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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Debka sez al-Qaeda's planning to hit China |
| 2006-02-19 |
| In mid-September, Al Qaeda diverted a small but potent force from Iraq to a new mission: the opening of a new front in China. The unit was smuggled into the Chinese border town of Kushi in the Xinjiang Uygur province in November, after a meandering journey traced by DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s counter-terror sources. There, the terrorists were quickly absorbed by the al Qaeda infrastructure of local Uygur Muslim extremist cells. Their plan of campaign in the first stage was to reach Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai for strikes against US embassies and consulates, American firms operating in China and American tourists. (This al Qaeda group was previously revealed by DEBKA-Net-Weekly 229 on Nov. 11 [A Jihadist Airlift] as having set out from Baghdad between mid-September and early October, stopping over in Qatar and proceeding to Konduz in northern Afghanistan for special training.) DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s sources report the terrorists slipped north from Konduz into Tajikistan and onto the Kyrgyz section of the strategic Fergana Valley which straddles Central Asia. There, they rendezvoused at two places, Osh and Jalal-Abad close to the Kyrgyz-Uzbekistan border, establishing jumping-off points for both China and Central Asia. The Islamist terrorists were guided from Konduz into Kyrgyzstan by armed men of al Qaeda’s operational arm in Uzbekistan, the MUI, which also has tentacles in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as training camps in the Fergana Valley. The commander of these cells is Tahir Yuldashev, an old comrade of Osama bin Laden who fought alongside him in Afghanistan. In 2004, Yuldashev returned to Tashkent from the badlands of Pakistan’s South Waziristan and was ordered to prepare facilities in Osh and Jalal-Abad for the incoming terrorist unit. His payment was a section of the force to boost his campaign against Uzbek president Karimov. The unit from Konduz accordingly divided into two heads – the largest proceeding from Osh into China and fetching up in Kushi, while the second group assembled in Jalal-Abad, turned west and crossed into Uzbekistan to set up base in the Fergana town of Andijon. American and British military and intelligence officials picked up the group’s arrival at the Konduz training facility, but decided after consultation that the large-scale forces needed to eradicate the facility would be hard to muster. They therefore resolved to await events and meanwhile find out where the mysterious al Qaeda force was heading. According to DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s intelligence sources, Washington reported the arrival to Moscow, hoping the counter-terror-trained Russian Motorized Rifle Division 201 stationed in Uzbekistan would step in to wipe out the al Qaeda intruders. The Russians declined to take action, but said they would not object to Beijing sending Chinese troops over the border to tackle the incoming terrorists. This was the first time Moscow had ever consented to the Chinese military stepping into Central Asian soil and joining the war on terror in that region. Clearly, the Kremlin, which frowns on American military bases and movements in Central Asia, was not eager to pull American chestnuts out of the fire The skirmishing between Washington, Moscow and Beijing over who should tackle the al Qaeda menace – if anyone – had the result of opening the door for al Qaeda to move a force across half the globe from Iraq to the Far East unhindered and plant it in western China and eastern Uzbekistan. The Chinese government was caught totally unprepared and did its best to tune out the loud alarums sounded by Chinese military and security chiefs. However, on November 9, the Chinese police alerted the US embassy in Beijing to a possible attack by Islamic rebels on luxury hotels throughout China. The US embassy accordingly advised American visitors to “review their plans” to stay at four- and five-star hotels in China over the coming week. A sharper notice was issued in the southern Chinese town of Guangzhou relaying “credible information” that a terrorist threat may exist against official US government facilities in the city. American citizens in south China were advised to remain alert to possible threats. China’s Ministry of Public Security responded to these warnings, which were obviously sourced in Chinese police circles, with anger. A statement accused an unnamed “foreign citizen” of fabricating the so-called attack on four- and five-star hotels in China. The Chinese foreign ministry chipped in with, “Chinese public security has never issued such a warning for foreigners on the hotel issue,” its spokesman told reporters. “Chinese hotels are safe!” he added. US officials diplomatically withdrew their terror alert notice. However, while Chinese officials are doing their utmost to calm fears that could affect the tourist industry, DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s counter-terror sources affirm that a terror alert is indeed in force in Chinese cities. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #21 Keep the press out and its not too hard to face. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-02-19 23:49 |
| #20 Look at the Islamic Truths thread on Pg 4. Some toughlove now may prevent a bloodbath later. But it is hard to face the reality of what is needed. |
| Posted by: SR-71 2006-02-19 21:54 |
| #19 At least, OP, they do need some tough love. The question is on what scale should we set the TLM (Tough Love Machine) to? On a scale of 1 to 10. Note that this is a logarithmic scale, kinda like the Richter scale, where a step in the scale = a 10-fold increase in toughness. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2006-02-19 19:02 |
| #18 Sooner or later, the rest of the world is going to have to decide whether our problem is Islamists or Islam. Either way, there has to be an accounting. We've given away too much, too long. We need to start standing up to these assclowns, and breaking a few heads where needed. THey have to learn that THEY have to adjust to the rest of the world, the rest of the world is NOT going to adjust to them. Start with the next riot in any Western nation turning onto a bloodbath for the islamists. Follow up with some TOUGH sanctions against parts of the islamic world, including shutting by military force ports and harbors. As someone said, the demand will force us to learn new ways to do things, but will put the screws to the Arab world where 90% of the problem originates. We can turn the entire Middle East into another Somalia, and let it rot. Maybe that's what we should do. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2006-02-19 18:55 |
| #17 The ISI routinely informs the Chinese about their citizens that have trained in the jihadi terror camps. They don't have a long lifespan. The ISI has even executed Uigars on behalf of the Chinese (muslim brotherhood be damned). |
| Posted by: john 2006-02-19 18:16 |
| #16 Historically, the Chinese relationship with Muslims has been to tolerate them UNTIL they get to uppity then exterminate a large number until they settle down for a few generations. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-02-19 15:13 |
| #15 I also wonder how capably the Chinese authorities in Beijing could cope with determined terrorist attacks by outsiders. My impression is that their control is shaky and relies in part on Chinese cultural deference to those in authority roles. I might be wrong about this, but for instance they're having trouble with Net censorship. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-02-19 15:08 |
| #14 A small quibble... China is unlikely to become our ally. The best we can hope for is that they will become the enemy of my enemy. (full stop) Allies share interests. |
| Posted by: SR-71 2006-02-19 15:00 |
| #13 Al-Qaeda attacking in China would probably only help our cause... would be great to have the Chinese as a real ally in the WOT. |
| Posted by: bgrebel 2006-02-19 14:38 |
| #12 The PRC makes a lot of money on tourism (big shots in the Commie party own lots of shares of various enterprizes) and an Al Q would be a blow to both the budget and to prestige. They would not be able to cover up a big hit. The problem for the PRC is what to do about it. They already persecute the muslim tribes in the western part of China so what else are they going to do? |
| Posted by: mhw 2006-02-19 12:45 |
| #11 I read a paper about two years ago over on Hal Lindsey's site http://www.hallindseyoracle.com/ about the growth of Christianity in China. And, How appealing Chirsitianity is for the Chinese. Also, the article brought out that the newly created Chinese Christian Missionaries are now targeting Islam and its members for conversion to Christianity. It said to the effect that the face of the war in the Middle East will change dramatically when these Chinese missionaries begin to hit the streets. The goal was to send close to 1.5 million missionaries to the Middle East! Could this be the next Crusade? Maybe Al Q read the same article. I will try to find the link to it. |
| Posted by: TomAnon 2006-02-19 12:43 |
| #10 You're right, of course, twobyfour. It was early, and I snarked without thinking. How is China responding to current [non-suicide] booms caused by those disappointed in love or business deals? We've read about several here, but I don't remember the follow-up. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-02-19 12:35 |
| #9 OK, they're that dumb. How may we help? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-02-19 10:41 |
| #8 #3: They're dumb, but they're not that dumb. Yes, they really are that dumb. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-02-19 10:18 |
| #7 "They're dumb, but they're not that dumb." I'm not saying they're planning it, but they ARE that dumb. Examples abound. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2006-02-19 10:10 |
| #6 Perhaps the Islamonutzis will succumb to a new foe ... Avian Flu. A suicide mission into the Hot Zone may prove ironically a self-fulfilling prophecy. |
| Posted by: doc 2006-02-19 09:13 |
| #5 Prepare to break out the gourmet popcorn. |
| Posted by: ryuge 2006-02-19 08:33 |
| #4 I suspect that more than making terrorist attacks, which are already happening in China at a tremendous clip, al-Qaeda plans to *publicize* attacks. Remember that China is far more concerned about hiding the reality than it is the reality itself. As far as casualties, China could absorb a death rate of 100,000 a DAY for an entire YEAR before really starting to feel a pinch. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-02-19 07:56 |
| #3 They're dumb, but they're not that dumb. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-02-19 07:43 |
| #2 Well, TW, not for the victims... but the aftermath of any jihadi booms in China may prove to be an entertaining spectacle, indeed. The Allanists have no idea what a shitload of cans of worms they would open. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2006-02-19 07:06 |
| #1 China? That should prove amusing. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-02-19 06:08 |