16 policemen killed in attack in northwest China; terror plot suspected

Can't say anything specific or I'll get moderated again, but it strikes me that the latest terrorist attacks are taking ideas from events that have grabbed the biggest headlines in recent weeks. Driving a truck into a place where a known body of people will be, jumping out and knifing some of them, ...

Hate to think what they'll come up with next.

And I'd hate to be these two in Chinese police custody right now.

The religion of peace in China. Now lets see if some of the usual leftist commentators here manage to blame GW Bush for it.

I hope the Chinese execute these two terrorists after a speedy trial.

Can't say anything specific or I'll get moderated again, but it strikes me that the latest terrorist attacks are taking ideas from events that have grabbed the biggest headlines in recent weeks.

That's what they do....sensational attacks that grab headlines. That's why they usually prefer car bombs. You don't often hear of groups like Al-Queda walking into places with guns and shooting people since it doesn't generate the same headlines as a car bomb, even if it kills fewer people. In places like Iraq you have sectarian violence than can kill 500 in a month but one car bomb that kills 50 gets more headlines than all of the other deaths combined.

they got a lot of balls trying something like this in China. They don't screw around.

skip:

" they got a lot of balls trying something like this in China. They don't screw around. "

Doesn´t matter. Jihadist are not afraid to die, because they go to muslim paradise. Why do you think that people who are willing to blow themselves up would be scared of Chinese authorities? China has exactly the same problem with its muslim population that other countries have.

As a New Yorker I have little to no respect for Jihadists. But this is an example of the saying "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter".

OssanULTRA:

" But this is an example of the saying "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". "

No. The islamists who committed this terrorist attack are fighting for the same kind of "freedom" as the islamists who flew the plane into the WTC. That China is a dictatorship does not change that. Sorry, but relativizing does not work here.

OssanULTRA; The terrorists are all evil doers whatever their cause. They must be hunted doen, eliminated or convicted by US justice.

WE are the world policeman, and we must use our force for good to destroy terrorism worldwide.

I'm with Madverts, I don't think this pair will last too long. My gues is they may mysteriously die during interrogation.

"No. The islamists who committed this terrorist attack are fighting for the same kind of "freedom" as the islamists who flew the plane into the WTC. That China is a dictatorship does not change that. Sorry, but relativizing does not work here."

WilliB:

The islamists who flew the planes into WTC killed inncocent third party civilians, in the United States, not in some mideast country. The islamists who commited the act in the aricle killed paramilitary police, ie Chinese govt authorities, in the Uighur autonomous region which was occupied by China in 1960. Sorry but there IS a difference. To be exactly the same in my book, these Uighur separatists would have to have killed innocent Chinese civilians in China outside the Uighur Autonmous Region. When we invaded Afghanistan and rounded up these jihadists we discovered something of a problem. We ended up capturing Uigher separtists who had no interest in fighting the "Western Infidels" but were receiving training from the Taliban solely to fight the Chinese who had occupied their land of East Turkestan. The world isn't as black & white or on a 6th grade level as many folks think.

to fight the Chinese who had occupied their land" They have a tendency to believe what ever land they can grab, either by invading slowly, proxy, or governmental take over is theirs.

slowly, they will take over! Have a look at the NYC train system as of late.

skipthesong,

What does the NYC trains system have to do with this?

I tend to agree somewhat with OssanULTRA. China is an ancient empire which was cobbled together by assimilating adjacent lands but never the people. According to Britannica, 3/5 of China's land mass is occupied by 55 distinct minority groups. Where they appear in large numbers they have enjoyed a degree of autonomy and it is not surprising that they want more.

It's an age-old problem what to do with people who want their independence. The US fought two wars over precisely this issue, each time taking a different side: independence for us? yes, thank you; independence for you? no, thank you. People who feel that their independence has been denied tend to get a bit feisty.

I don't know about how the Chinese police are perceived in Xinjiang, but that region borders at least 5 countries whose name end in -stan. China is not known for religious freedom, in fact fears it as is the case in Tibet where resistance subdued largely through the efforts of the Dalai Lama, and tends to the repressive. Repression perpetuates resistance.

The target here was not civilians. It was the state. So while you or others may call this an act of terrorism and deplore the doers for being evil, I think it was more likely an act of revolt and that if we are going to deplore the doers we might better do that as deploring them for indulging in pointlessly futile violence.

Ossan:

" The islamists who flew the planes into WTC killed inncocent third party civilians, in the United States, not in some mideast country. "

Why does that matter? Are your lifes worth more than someone in China? The islamist cause is universal. The Jihad will go on until the whole world is united in a Caliphate under Sharia.

WilliB "Doesn´t matter. Jihadist are not afraid to die, because they go to muslim paradise."

I let this go first time around as I didn't want to appear pedantic, but it needs rephrasing. "Jihadists are not afraid to die, because they believe that they go to a Muslim paradise." Because the Mullahs have told them that this is so.

And in your comment above to Ossan, WilliB, "Are your lives worth more than someone in China?" you are missing his point completely, either deliberately or by mistake. His comment has nothing to do with the relative values of people's lives.

Nanda:

" I let this go first time around as I didn't want to appear pedantic, but it needs rephrasing. "Jihadists are not afraid to die, because they believe that they go to a Muslim paradise." Because the Mullahs have told them that this is so. "

We all act on what we believe. As far as the jihadists go, they go to muslim paradise for killing infidels in the name of god, so they act on that. If there actually is a hell and a paradise and who gets there is something you don´t know and I don`t know and it is totally irrelevant to the problem of muslim jihadism, in China and anywhere else.

And no, I am not missing the point. It does not matter that in this case they killed policemen. Jihadists are happy to blow up civilians as well as policemen, in Chinas as well as in Iraq or NY for that matter.

Sorry to disrupt your discussion but 2 things:

The Uigher separatists were conveniently branded terrorists after sept 11th 2001, and it became easier to for the Chinese to control them in their 'Autonomous region'.

Driving a dumptruck into a group of jogging police officers and then throwing grenades into the base sounds a whole lot like some Grand Theft Auto missions.

Xinjiang was China's land, there was no agruing about occupations over that land, thatw as China's land. And it was unappropiate to use the word occupations to describe Chinese presents over Xinjiang. Those agrue of Chinese occupations was an anti Chinese prejudices and with races hatred motivated. All the Chinese military police were heros they protected our settlers living over there and they will be honoured!

The western worls was too cowards to face the rise of China and giving untrue and distorted theory over the esistences of Uigharstan, the United nations was never recognzing China's occupations over any country's land, the existences of an uigharsytans was just a myth!