Posted on 12/23/2003 3:07:17 PM PST by Ranger
China's most-wanted terrorist suspect has been killed in a joint US and Pakistani military operation, according to Chinese state media.
The death of Hasan Mahsum, a leader of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) from China's mainly Muslim north-western region of Xinjiang, could not immediately be confirmed and the state media reports were removed from newspaper websites yesterday.
However, if true, Mr Mahsum's demise would offer a big boost to Beijing's efforts to link its crackdown on pro-independence activity in Xinjiang to the wider US-led "war on terror".
Earlier this month, China had put Mr Mahsum's name at the head of its list of 11 alleged terrorists as part of an appeal for greater international co-operation in combating Xinjiang separatist organisations.
In 2002, the US officially described the ETIM as a terrorist group after strong lobbying from Beijing, although some analysts said the designation appeared to be backed by little hard evidence.
The Chinese government has described the ETIM as a "major component of the terrorist network headed by Osama bin Laden" and as having close ties to the Taliban.
In an interview with a US radio station in 2002, however, Mr Mahsum reportedly denied having any organisational links with al-Qaeda or of receiving funding from Mr bin Laden.
Beijing has long blamed sporadic violence in Xinjiang on separatists hoping to end Chinese rule over the region. Human rights groups have long complained that Chinese "anti-terrorist" campaigns are used as a cover for brutal repression of any promotion of Xinjiang independence.
In a report picked up by both other state newspapers, the International Herald Leader, a publication of China's official Xinhua news agency, said he had been killed "recently" in a joint operation by US and Pakistani forces. It gave no details of the location or timing of the operation.
However, Xinhua itself did not issue the report and it was later removed from the International Herald Leader's website. "It's too sensitive, so we cut the link (to the article)," an employee at the newspaper said yesterday, but gave no details.
From China to the US, from India to the Russia, the major powers of the world are being stalked by this pest.
If anything, this is a bad strategic move.
They're like last century's Marxist terrorists--they really believe History, or God, or (fill in the blank) is on their side.
Opposition to Chinese communist rule has not been based upon Islamic fundamentalism.
With the rise of Islamic fundamentalism I'm sure there are terrorist elements at work now.
But the Chinese communists are against any threat to their rule. They have tried to paint Taiwanese as terrorists right after 911 and will try to paint any opposition as terrorist.
That terrorists surely now are part of the mix allows the Chinese communists to broadbrush even more so.
Don't let this fool anyone. Facts of the matter are the Chinese communists associated with Hussein to build fiber optic defense networks for them and also put in fiber optic systems for the Taliban.
The government of China themselves had more contact with the Taliban than the supposed terrorists, having met at ambassadorial levels with Mullah Omar in Pakistan and Afghanistan to cultivate ties between the Taliban and China.
China has and is acting as technical advisors and supplying material for Iran's nuclear program. After 911 and Bush's Axis of Evil speech, Jiang Zemin went to Iran and held a summit with Iran's leaders where they pledged continued partnership.
Pakistan, which now has admitted providing nuclear help to Iran, received their help from China. China is very culpable in Iran's nuclear weapons program, among other things.
I am sure there are Islamic fundamentalists who were born PRC nationals and to see them arrested or killed is a plus.
But the Chinese government is certainly not on the right side of this. They straddle the fence as much as possible and have provided much more aid to the terrorist regimes than to us.
The Mahdi.
Watch Khartoum, starring Charlton Heston circa 1956. Yet another in a long line of false Muslim charlatans poses as the Muslim "savior" - the Mahdi - and wages war (since that's what Muslims do).
OBL is the current hallucinatory vision of "The Mahdi."
Islam is sick, sick, sick.
If anything, this is a bad strategic move.
I have marveled at the inept approach to terrorism of Al Qaeda.
Instead of taking a rifle approach to us, they are using a shotgun on the world.
The collateral damage has even gotten their Saudi sponsors afraid of their own Frankenstein monster. -Tom
Probably they have very few. I doubt it's very healthy to be a terrorist in China.
That shows a current list of all the top officers in the CCP. We would need a similar list for each province to even start. If you go to the library you can get the list... its a small paper back...you would have to look in the govt docs and know the sudoc #...but its there...
The local govts are often in serious competition with each other.
As for its relation with Beijing depends on a whole lot of things. Its sometimes full of disdain, depending on where one is talking about. At the same time they want their guy to be up in the ranks in Beijing.
Thats a large calling to know which province has what or wants what from Beijing. Many don't like the central govt hacks, that is until they come to town, then they fake it for a while trying to get favors.
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