Chinese abducted in Iraq. From AP, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:
Armed men seized seven Chinese nationals in central Iraq, prompting appeals for their rescue by the government in Beijing.The Chinese had entered Iraq from Jordan on Sunday and were taken later in the day in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, the Beijing foreign ministry said on its Web site. State television said they were stopped en route from Jordan to Baghdad.
The Foreign Ministry called on Iraqi authorities to help find and rescue the seven. It warned Chinese nationals to avoid Iraq and called on those already in the country to tighten their security.
Fallujah has been the scene of fighting between United States forces and Sunni insurgents. Gunmen in the area have also abducted other foreign nationals, including three Japanese civilians seized by a group threatening to burn them alive if Japan does not withdraw its non-combat troops from Iraq.
Before the US-led attack that ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, China had called for a "political solution" instead of war. Beijing, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, had described relations with Saddam's government as warm.
More recently, Beijing has advocated sending a UN team back to Iraq to help restore stability.
The Chinese abductees, aged 18 to 49, were stopped on a highway to Baghdad from Amman, the Jordanian capital, according to state television, which made the abduction the top story on its midday national news. It said they did not work for China's Communist Part-controlled government or a state company.
"Leaders of the party and nation are very concerned about this and have ordered the Foreign Ministry and embassies abroad to begin urgent rescue work to secure early freedom for our hostages," the foreign ministry said on its Web site.
I don't get it. What kind of appeasement can the Chinese offer the Iraqis if they do not have troops in Iraq?
For all their faults, the Chinese are made of sterner stuff than Western Europeans. Based on their government's ruthlessness in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Tiannamen, I can never imagine the Chinese public clamoring for some kind of "appeasement".
Let us hope the terrorists have made a BIG mistake.
i'm with you, milan. it would be nice if the chinese were better allies in the war on terror. however, due to the political nature of the country, a public outcry on any opinion would be nothing short of miraculous.
One assumes that the American government is even now figuring out which states can best contribute undercover agents to penetrate Muslim groups. The agents MUST not be Muslims, except in cases of absolute necessity. But they should be well-versed in Islam, know a sufficient amount of Qur'an and hadith to pass muster. Surely there are Chinese agents even now working among the Uighur, and there may even be Uighur, Kazakhs, and others who are not Muslim, or who regard their ex-faith with cold fury. One hopes the Chinese will contribute their mite -- not mention the South Koreans, who know that the Turks who came during the War managed to convert a certain number of Koreans to Islam. Let the Christians converted a century before by the Rev. Horace J. Underwood, to Presbyterianism, learn enough about Islam to "pass" for those Koreans converted in the 1950s by Turkish soldiers. Oh, there is a great deal that could be done -- if the CIA would begin to understand that Islam is not merely, nor mainly, a religion but a geopolitical cult, more dangerous and more completely thought-destroying than Communism, and with far wider appeal than Nazism.
Come on, all you well-paid brains in Langley. Earn your keep.