Quote:
Originally posted by Moridin:
Caleb--
He is not apologizing for spying! Of course every country does it that is obvious. China is demanding an apology b/c they think our plane caused their plane to crash. And we think their plane caused ours to crash. That is why both sides are looking for an apology!
And as for Pearl Harbor. I do not think we need to worry about that now. We have these things called satelites! We are not worried about a sneak attack. There is absolutely no way Pearl Harbor could reoccur!!!
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Satellites do not tell a country everything it wants to know. A large carrier task force, for example, can spend months at sea and evade detection from satellites--how much easier for a submarine group. (e.g. Those really fancy cameras in satellites still can't see through storm clouds). Of course, this is just a minor point.
EVERY country larger than Aruba participates in some form of spying--and that includes Holland and the Netherlands. Everybody spies on everybody else--at least as much as possible. Countries gather information about their enemies and allies--economic, political, social, military, etc. The whole point of spying and gathering information is that you never know what will become useful. Do you want to wait until a war is started before you even glance at the opponent's resources?
Regarding Spy planes--the US plane was operating in International Waters. This is obvious from the fact that the Chinese pilots did not ward it off (or blow it up) with a warning shot. The Chinese pilots were "escorting" the US plane--they were trying to intimidate, annoy, and disrupt the US plane's mission (which is perfectly legal and expected). If they had been in Chinese waters they would not have been "escorting," they would have been "executing." (Does anyone remember the Cesna that flew too close to Cuba a few years back? That's what happens to unwanted aircraft.)
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Let me see..."Oprah!"