U.S.Strategies in Maintaining Peace across the Taiwan Strait military establishment will want to be free to utilize force in the national interest during a possible war.Tucker maintains that the United States should take an open position toward the scenario of China's reunification- Washington should have no objection if both sides of the Strait choose peaceful unification.3 In Untying the Knot:Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait,Richard Bush recognizes that a political dispute between the PRC and Taiwan could escalate into war,but this worst-case scenario is avoidable if the political knot can be untied.According to Bush,the fundamental problem is that political leaders in Beijing and Taipei,due to domestic constraints,mistrust each other's motives and lack the political will to strike a deal.Bush argues that Washington has eschewed any formal role as mediator,even though Beijing and Taipei have different expectations of Washington. However,the United States may act as intellectual facilitator between the two sides and interpret the views of one side to the other,in order to reduce their misperception of each other.He proposes that the two sides accept some type of confederation that would satisfy the minimum objectives of each side-Beijing would get a form of unification and Taiwan would preserve its claim that its government retains sovereignty within a national union.3 One common line running through the literature above is that the United States is not concerned about the ultimate shape of cross-Strait relations,as long as it is achieved peacefully.From the perspective of geopolitics,Taiwan's peaceful separation from mainland China might maximize U.S.national interests.However,due to Beijing's strong oppo- sition to Taiwan independence,this scenario is unlikely to happen.The best choice for the United States,therefore,seems to be maintenance of the PNancy Bernkopf Tucker,Dangerous Strait:The U.S.-Taiwan-China Crisis (New York: Columbia University Press,2005),205-7. Nancy Bernkopf Tucker,"If Taiwan Chooses Unification,Should the United States Care?" The Washington Quarterly 25,no.3 (Summer 2002):15-28. Richard Bush,Untying the Knot:Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait (Washington,D.C.: Brookings Institution Press,2005),chap.1. SIbid.,chap.10. June 2007 219U.S. Strategies in Maintaining Peace across the Taiwan Strait June 2007 219 military establishment will want to be free to utilize force in the national interest during a possible war. 2 Tucker maintains that the United States should take an open position toward the scenario of China's reunification— Washington should have no objection if both sides of the Strait choose peaceful unification. 3 In Untying the Knot: Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait, Richard Bush recognizes that a political dispute between the PRC and Taiwan could escalate into war, but this worst-case scenario is avoidable if the political knot can be untied. According to Bush, the fundamental problem is that political leaders in Beijing and Taipei, due to domestic constraints, mistrust each other's motives and lack the political will to strike a deal. 4 Bush argues that Washington has eschewed any formal role as mediator, even though Beijing and Taipei have different expectations of Washington. However, the United States may act as intellectual facilitator between the two sides and interpret the views of one side to the other, in order to reduce their misperception of each other. He proposes that the two sides accept some type of confederation that would satisfy the minimum objectives of each side— Beijing would get a form of unification and Taiwan would preserve its claim that its government retains sovereignty within a national union. 5 One common line running through the literature above is that the United States is not concerned about the ultimate shape of cross-Strait relations, as long as it is achieved peacefully. From the perspective of geopolitics, Taiwan's peaceful separation from mainland China might maximize U.S. national interests. However, due to Beijing's strong oppo￾sition to Taiwan independence, this scenario is unlikely to happen. The best choice for the United States, therefore, seems to be maintenance of the 2Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, Dangerous Strait: The U.S.-Taiwan-China Crisis (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005), 205-7. 3Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, "If Taiwan Chooses Unification, Should the United States Care?" The Washington Quarterly 25, no. 3 (Summer 2002): 15-28. 4Richard Bush, Untying the Knot: Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2005), chap. 1. 5 Ibid., chap. 10