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do you, that there are some in the U.S. who say China is the great evil in the
world today.
There are some who would wish to trigger a conflict between the U.S. and the
PRC.
They are agitating for it today, as they have been for many years. Perhaps
this will be tempting for the Americans in this present hour, to see China as
the enemy and to see this as the moment to attack us. Well, we are not the
enemy. And let there be no misunderstanding; any attempt to treat us like an
enemy will be dealt with in the most decisive manner possible."
6:40 A.M.-A REFUGEE CAMP IN NORTHERN JORDAN
Bennett watched Premier Zhao leave the podium.
It had been a useful press conference right up to the end, he thought. But
then it had taken an ominous turn. CNN's Terry Cameron seemed to agree.
"The Chinese premier seems to be offering both condolences to the American
people and what could only be seen as a threat to the American government;
wouldn't you say, Wang
Li?" Cameron asked.
"I'm afraid so," the Beijing correspondent agreed. "The premier's words were
particularly sharp, especially given the fact that no one least of all the
American government has actually accused the Chinese of attacking the U.S. Nor
have we heard any speculation from official sources in the U.S. that they even
suspect China was involved in these attacks at any level whatsoever."
"Is it possible that the U.S. has been communicating threats to Beijing
through back channels of some kind?" Cameron asked.
"Possible, but doubtful, in my view," the correspondent replied. "Surely the
U.S.
Embassy here would be aware of this and interested in letting the
international press corps know of such warnings. But at the moment, I'm not
aware of anything like that."
"So from your vantage point, Wang Li, where does that leave us?"
"It's a tough question, Terry there aren't many countries capable of causing
this kind of apocalyptic destruction inside the United States, but Red China
is certainly one of them,"
the correspondent explained. "The PRC is clearly very worried that w h a t ' s
l e f t o f t h e
American government may point the finger of blame at Beijing and retaliate,
and the premier is obviously taking preemptive action to head off such a
dangerous confrontation between themselves and the U.S."
"It's a situation we'll be watching closely over the coming hours," Cameron
said. "But one more thing before we leave you. I understand that U.N.
Secretary-General Salvador
Lucente was in Beijing overnight and then left this morning for Babylon. What
can you tell us about his meetings there?"
"That's true, Terry," the reporter confirmed. "Secretary-General Lucente was
originally scheduled to be in New York all this week, hosting a human rights
conference. But at the last minute, something apparently came up that
persuaded him to leave Manhattan and to come to Beijing. It's a move, of
course, that now seems almost miraculous. Had he remained in New York, he most
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certainly would have been among
the casualties. According to senior officials who spoke with me on the
condition of anonymity, the secretary-general came here to negotiate the
possible introduction of
Chinese peacekeeping forces into the Persian Gulf region. Mr. Lucente has been
pressing China to play a critical role in speeding up the economic
reconstruction and recovery in the Middle East, and to help increase the rate
of oil production, which of course is vital to bringing down the international
price of oil and stabilizing the global economy. Chinese leaders have been
reluctant to get heavily involved, but something seemed to change over the
weekend, something that apparently convinced the secretary-general to change
his plans and come here for a series of high-level negotia-
tions. But neither side made any public comment when talks ended this
morning."
"Thanks, Wang Li," Cameron said. "We understand the secretary- general will be
holding a press conference later today in Babylon to discuss the destruction
of the U.N.
headquarters in New York and where the international community goes from here.
CNN will bring that to you live when it happens. For now, we go to London to
bring the latest international reaction to . . ."
Bennett excused himself, took a bottle of water from the small refrigerator in
Dr.
Kwamee's office, and stepped outside the clinic.
The temperature was now soaring. There was little shade and no breeze. But he
couldn't watch any more television. He couldn't listen to the doctors arguing
over whether
China was behind the attacks or what the U.S. should do if they were. Erin was
still asleep. He couldn't reach his mom or anyone else he knew in the States.
He needed to be alone. He needed time to think, time to pray, time to figure
out what in the world he was supposed to do in light of the events unfolding
around him.
He walked past the guards at the main gate, who expressed their shock and
their condolences and asked if there was anything they could do. Bennett
thanked them and moved on. The answer was no, there was nothing they could do,
but he greatly appreciated the concern.
Bennett now walked toward his and Erin's tent, baking in the morning heat.
Perhaps he could take a shower and change his clothes before Erin awoke and
needed him again, he decided. But first he headed to the mess tent and
apologized to his supervisor for missing the breakfast shift. It wasn't
necessary, she assured him. She had heard what had happened to Erin and about
the attacks in the U.S. She urged him to take as much time as he needed. She
and her team of volunteers would get by. She didn't know how exactly, but
somehow they would get by.
Bennett thanked this kindly older woman from Bangladesh and began heading back
to his tent when a thought hit him: they were leaving. He wasn't sure when. It
couldn't be soon.
But something within Bennett told him he and Erin weren't going to be in
Jordan much longer.
If Erin were healthy, of course, there would be no question. They would head
home immediately. What they would do when they got there, he had no idea. How
they would even get back into the country he had no idea about that either.
All flights in and out of the continental United States were shut down.
Canada, too, for the moment.
Mexico? The Caribbean? Were any of these options? He really didn't know, and
there was no point thinking about it. He couldn't move Erin. Not for another
week or two, at least. Perhaps by then things would be clearer. But something
made Bennett wonder if they had another week.
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Bennett took a sip of water and kept walking. As he did, he found himself
mulling over the photo he had seen on CNN of Vice President Oaks taking the
oath of office from the federal judge from Jacksonville. To Bennett, it was
eerily reminiscent of the famous November 22, 1963, photo of Vice President
Lyndon Johnson being sworn in aboard
Air Force One after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas.
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