Rand Paul: “President Bush deserves much credit for the handling of the spy plane crisis. However, he has received significant…”

“President Bush deserves much credit for the handling of the spy plane crisis. However, he has received significant criticism from some of his own political supporters for saying he was very sorry for the incident. This seems a very small price to pay for the safe return of 24 American military personnel. Trade with China, though, should be credited with helping to resolve this crisis. President Bush in the diplomatic handling of this event avoided overly strong language and military threats which would have done nothing to save the lives of these 24 Americans. This confrontation, however, provides an excellent opportunity for us to reevaluate our policy toward China and other nations. Although trade with China for economic reasons encourages both America and China to work for a resolution of the spy plane crisis, our trading status with China should be reconsidered. Mr. Speaker, what today is called 'free trade' is not exactly that. Although we engage in trade with China, it is subsidized to the tune of many billions of dollars through the Export-Import Bank, the most of any country in the world. We also have been careless over the last several years in allowing our military secrets to find their way into the hands of the Chinese government. At the same time we subsidize trade with China, including sensitive military technology, we also build up the Taiwanese military, while continuing to patrol the Chinese border with our spy planes.”