Let's all hope for the quick and safe return of our military people in China. Three days now and these servicemen and women are still being held without release after their emergency landing on the Chinese Island.

It has been reported on MSNBC and CNN that the plane's equipment is now being removed too. Sounds like the Eighties all over again (I don't remember politically any earlier than that).

I'm also having difficulty believing that the Navy plane caused the collision... What to do, what to do...

Give them a week then stop all trade with China til we get the plane and people back. Sieze all chinese assets til the whole mess is resolved.

If we are sending people and planes up without a plan as to what we will do if one ends up in their hands along with its crew , then our top brass should be busted down to privates and put on KP. If we have a plan , let's get on with it!

Looks like George W. will get tested early here.

Although I'm not a big Bush fan, he is our president and we all should support him in doing what's necessary to bring our soldiers home.

I agree, I don't like the vibes I'm gettin'... another cold war we do not need. Tremendous waste of resources.

One of my big problems with Bill Clinton's presidency was the sloppy national security. Could come back to bite us in the @$$ bigtime.

I don't know all of the story here and I doubt any of us ever will. While I do feel bad for people held captive and I wish them the best, I am asking myself, why was a spyplane flying over China? Not the reason why the press said, I mean the real reason. I'm thinking that they were spying. Let's take a look at how our country treats spies. That Hannsen guy will never be heard from again. 50 russian diplomats were sent back to Moscow. The chinese have spied on us for nuclear secrets, I'm sure our plane was over there looking to see how they were using those secrets.

Now a chinese airman is missing. I think the Chinese have every right to keep that plane and the people using it to investigate the incident. From what I read, the US airmen and women have been treated well, they are all in good health. Let the Chinese finish their investigation.

NNNNNNG - Wrong answer Patrick.

What the US plane was doing, flying well outside Chinese airspace, was most likely gaining signals intelligence, radar pictures of the island's base facilities, communications, and the like. The media has jumped all over the "Spy Plane" bit. The old U2 or SR71s can be called spy planes as they actually violated the air space of other countries but a seriously non-performing prop plane like the P3 which is so slow and noticeable is hardly a "spy plane".

Those flights go on all of the time between us, the russians, the chinese, japanese, and every other nation that can wind up a rubber band and get a plane into the air. This is not an instance where the US has gone over the edge of acceptable behavior. These practices of intelligence gathering happen all over the world in all forms. Prior to the fall of the Wall, don't you think Nato/US was listening in on eastern europe from Berlin? You betcha. Did the Soviets run their aircraft and ships off our coasts on the way to Cuba? Yup. Do the Chinese fly their planes & park their ships off Taiwan and Japan and take a little listen? Good answer.

This is also not staffing an embassy with spies stuffing secret micro film under a park bench, but a common practice that has been going on ever since the first fellow that tried to break some other tribe's smoke signal code.

As far as Hansen, I hope is tried publically and if guilty (sure sounds like it) spends an awful long time as somebody's girlfriend courtesy of the US Federal Prison system.

When there is a collision and an aircraft, military or otherwise, needs to land, a "civilized" country will not hold the occupants to the point that they cannot contact anyone. A "civilized" nation would not do that.

Don't expect the Chinese to behave all fair and honest in this - the US will not be called a Saint by any means but our track record is a hell of alot better than China's in these situations...

That whole propaganda bit about the Navy plane causing the collision: crap. That Navy plane would be hard pressed to suprise that Chinese fighter in ANY kind of mannouvre. 10 to 1 that Chinese fighter screwed up and hit the US plane. Otherwise he must have fell asleep at the wheel (the Chinese guy). I do hope they find him but if he has not turned up yet, chances, sadly, are getting worse. The news sites say he ejected properly. I sincerly hope the Chinese do not hold the American pilot responsible for this...

its an international p*****g contest right now, nothing more. i'm sure that the american crew are being treated well enough, because in no way does china want to threaten its favored nation trade status. there will be some grandstading back and forth and then it will work itself out. hopefully, any sensitive equipment was destroyed by the crew before being captured.

If the shoe were on the other foot we would probably do the same thing. Since our equipment is most likely vastly superior to what the Chinese have it is only logical that they would send the plane back as a box of rivets. Do I agree, absolutely not. Will we stop trade with China, no way too many American companies are getting rich off of US by exploiting the Chinese labor market.

There will be some saber rattling and things will go back to normal, whatever that is.