-Caveat Lector- "In 1996, while he held the Pacific command, American warships were sent in to warn China not to use its war games to try and disrupt elections in Taiwan." Ex-Admiral To Become China Envoy By SONYA ROSS .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- The man chosen by President Clinton to be the next ambassador to China is no stranger to tensions in the Pacific -- or to strained relations with a country angered by deaths of its citizens at the hands of the U.S. military. The White House said Thursday that Clinton had picked retired Adm. Joseph W. Prueher to replace Ambassador James Sasser in Beijing. The nomination would be subject to Senate confirmation. Prueher, 56, was commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific during a particularly tense period in U.S.-Chinese relations, stepping down from that post in March. A spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Brian Cullen, said Prueher was ``honored to be considered'' but would not comment publicly until the nomination was formally announced. Prueher is being called just as U.S.-Chinese relations have turned confrontational over NATO's mistaken bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. Three Chinese citizens were killed, and the incident triggered angry protests across China -- protests that kept Sasser and other staff members stuck in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing as demonstrators broke windows with rocks. Prueher is familiar with national resentment over U.S. actions. Earlier this year, he was selected by Defense Secretary William Cohen to co-chair a joint American-Italian committee that reviewed flight safety procedures for American aircraft operating from Italian bases. Those procedures came under close scrutiny after a low-flying Marine jet hit a ski gondola cable in the Italian Alps, sending 20 people to their deaths. Prueher succeeded in satisfying demands for more Italian control of air operations there but, according to U.S. officials, without compromising U.S. military readiness. The selection ends a months-long search in which several people were said to have declined the post, including other former military leaders and former members of Congress. Jonathan Pollack, senior Asia specialist at Rand Corp., said Prueher is the choice that Clinton should have made from the beginning, because of the skills he demonstrated in the Pacific command. ``It's a job that depends a lot on diplomatic skills,'' Pollack said. ``Even though we may be in something of a chill in our military-to-military relationship with China, that gives value to having Prueher there. He knows people in the (Chinese) armed forces, he knows the process.'' While nominating a career military leader to an ambassadorial post is unusual, it is not unprecedented. One of Prueher's predecessors at the Pacific Command, Adm. William Crowe, went on to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and then ambassador to Britain. In February, Defense Secretary William Cohen described him as ``a man of principle, free of self-doubt,'' a wise man with a broad mind -- and a two handicap at golf. ``So long as Joe Prueher has been on the watch, there has never been a doubt about America's resolve and commitment to the Pacific region,'' Cohen said. While he held the Pacific command, Prueher worked on improving military ties with China. But it was also during his tenure that American warships were sent into the Straits of Taiwan in 1996 to warn China not to use war games to disrupt elections in Taiwan. Before leaving the Pacific post this year, Prueher said the United States was ``in for a little more difficult time'' with China regarding human rights concerns because China had been grappling with an unsteady economy. ``Their economic problems are creating a lot of stress,'' Prueher told the Los Angeles Times. ``When their leaders lose a bit of stability, or control over an issue, they worry a lot, and it bleeds over to the human rights issue, where we don't see eye to eye. Still, we must respect China's legitimate interests.'' Prueher, from Nashville, Tenn., commanded the Navy's 6th Fleet and was U.S. Naval Academy commandant from 1989 to 1991. He also has served as commander of NATO's Naval Striking and Support Forces in Southern Europe. While at the Naval Academy, Prueher came under scrutiny for his handling of a 1989 incident in which a female midshipman, Gwen M. Dwyer, was handcuffed to a urinal and taunted by several male midshipmen after a snowball fight on campus. Prueher was the chief disciplinary officer in the young woman's sexual harassment case, and her family said he did not punish the eight men involved severely enough. Several academy officials were punished harshly -- some were transferred out of the school. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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