China's Turn

The Chinese Government has now followed the Russian in questioning a U. S. plan to shoot down a damaged, dangerous U. S. spy satellite. China said it is monitoring the situation, and urged the Bush administration to "avoid causing damages to security" in outer space or anywhere on Earth. Not as direct as the Russian statement, the Chinese position is nonetheless clear.

Both China and Russia seem to assume the U. S. can in fact destroy this satellite in space. Maybe those two governments have information about American capabilities in this area the American public lacks-- or maybe they simply assume that if they could do it, the U. S. can do it.

The possibility exists, however, that the Navy missile will fail, and the satellite will come crashing down, possibly injuring or killing innocent people. If that happens, the Bush administration will clearly take another pounding this political year, the American ability to deal with its own mishaps in space will be questioned, and the U. S. anti-satellite capability will not seem as formidable. A lot will be riding on that Navy missile.