On Sun, 22 Aug 2004 08:00:50 +0100, Pooh Bear
wrote:

"Thomas J. Paladino Jr." wrote:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...ina/tu-22m.htm

Two part question; first, do you think that China will actually succeed in
it's acquisition attempts regarding the Backfire, and if so, how many would
they end up with?

Irrelevant


Second, what does this mean to the the US?

Bugger all !

China needs the USA ( and the rest of the western world ) to trade with. That's
how they are modernising their country via a significant trade surplus.
Otherwise it's back to the paddy fields.

Trade isn't the be all and end all of avoiding war. France was
Germany's biggest trading partner in 1939.

Peter Kemp