Another great way of putting it progdirjim! A fine thread indeed.
I think Fripp's comments to Bruford were sincere, but at the same time with the tongue firmly planted in cheek. Perhaps the truth, but if you read the entire story this text is from, you get the feeling that Fripp's vision perhaps didn't quite account for Bruford's mastery. In the end, the music speaks for itself, I don't honestly hear Bruford being shackled with limitations on those records!
But as a bass player...I will say....when it comes to the backbeat, I have always acknowledged that sometimes the power of what you DON'T do is just as powerful, if not more so, than what you DO do.
