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Post by Chesapeake on Mar 8, 2014 12:16:39 GMT -5
CNN is reporting this morning that two of the passengers aboard the missing Malaysian airliner were traveling on passports that had been reported lost or stolen. If this turns out to be true, it raises the possibility that this was an act of Islamic terrorism - likely against the Chinese government, since the vast majority of passengers were ethnic Chinese. The large Turkic population of Xinxiang province in western China known as Uighurs for centuries have waged asymmetric warfare against their conquerors, the Han Chinese . It was a group of Uighurs who recently killed a bunch of Chinese with knives; but that was just the latest in the attacks and full-scale uprisings that have been launched over the years. Why should Americans care? First, it's interesting that China - a country certain to play an ever expanding role in our own future - has its own problem with Islamic freedom fighters (as they would style themselves). And second, the existence of this threat seems to me a good reason why China would not be overjoyed to see an Islamic government with nuclear weapons at its disposal in that general neck of the woods. I'm talking about Iran.
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Post by Cornflake on Mar 8, 2014 12:51:25 GMT -5
Have there been any claims of responsibility? If we don't hear any such claims eventually, I'd doubt this theory. Ordinarily, terrorists want it known that the act was intentional. If we'd thought that an airliner had accidentally flown into the World Trade Center, the event would have been viewed as just one of those things, and al Qaeda wouldn't have made any point.
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Post by billhammond on Mar 8, 2014 13:03:12 GMT -5
Have there been any claims of responsibility? If we don't hear any such claims eventually, I'd doubt this theory. Ordinarily, terrorists want it known that the act was intentional. If we'd thought that an airliner had accidentally flown into the World Trade Center, the event would have been viewed as just one of those things, and al Qaeda wouldn't have made any point. I fear terrorism on this one because all other causes seem unlikely -- no indications of any trouble with the aircraft, weather, etc. Airliners flying at cruise altitude don't just drop off radar without a peep.
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Post by Chesapeake on Mar 8, 2014 13:22:44 GMT -5
What Bill said, plus, it's still early for anyone to claim responsibility. It may be premature to pronounce it terrorism, much less point to Uighurs, but the circumstantial evidence is mounting. If so this would be a big leap for them. We tend not to hear too much about their activities because historically the Chinese government has suppressed reporting on troubles in that region.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2014 13:26:00 GMT -5
Well, the Air France flight 447 did - nary a distress call and poof.
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Post by theevan on Mar 8, 2014 13:31:06 GMT -5
Well, the Air France flight 447 did - nary a distress call and poof. But that was in heavy weather.
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Post by RickW on Mar 8, 2014 13:36:28 GMT -5
How would the Uighurs, if they are inside China, announce it? The internet is heavily controlled. It's not easy to get around it.
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Post by billhammond on Mar 8, 2014 13:47:57 GMT -5
Well, the Air France flight 447 did - nary a distress call and poof. Air France HQ got zillions of auto-alerts from that plane, every instant some parameter was not met. Plus it was an Airbus and the guy in the left seat was a complete fool.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2014 14:25:00 GMT -5
The Chinese have never been very tolerant of religions except maybe Buddhism and since the takeover by communist ideals the Chinese government has even been hostile to some religions, especially Islam.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2014 14:51:06 GMT -5
TWA Flight 800 dropped out of the sky without a distress call in clear weather as well. That was terrorism, too. Wait, no. The Navy shot it down. Dang, no. It just kinda blew up on it's own.
I reckon I'm waiting for some hard evidence.
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Post by Chesapeake on Mar 8, 2014 15:13:26 GMT -5
I'm never one to let the absence of hard facts dampen the joys of speculating.
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Post by Dub on Mar 8, 2014 15:56:00 GMT -5
TWA Flight 800 dropped out of the sky without a distress call in clear weather as well. That was terrorism, too. Wait, no. The Navy shot it down. Dang, no. It just kinda blew up on it's own. I reckon I'm waiting for some hard evidence. One of the many tragic things about Flight 800 was that it ended the life and career of this guy...
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Post by billhammond on Mar 9, 2014 19:13:56 GMT -5
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Post by Marshall on Mar 9, 2014 19:57:48 GMT -5
TWA Flight 800 dropped out of the sky without a distress call in clear weather as well. That was terrorism, too. Wait, no. The Navy shot it down. Dang, no. It just kinda blew up on it's own. I reckon I'm waiting for some hard evidence. One of the many tragic things about Flight 800 was that it ended the life and career of this guy... Damn ! Don't tell me that guitar went down with him !
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Post by patrick on Mar 9, 2014 19:59:11 GMT -5
Really, people?
In the complete absence of any evidence we're already attributing this to terrorism, and further to a particular ethnic group, and then deciding that the motive obviously is Islam?
Really? Bruce, this may be why David was a bit defensive when you asked him about his religion. Just speculating.
Given that China just expanded its "defense perimeter,' isn't it also possible that the Chinese shot it down by accident, a la the US in shooting down an Iranian jetliner, or the Russians shooting down an American jetliner?
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Post by Marshall on Mar 9, 2014 20:03:34 GMT -5
Points well taken
But if it was shot down, there'd be a record of another plane or missile on radar. If it blew up, it came from within. Could be a bomb. Could be a catastrophic mechanical malfunction. But if an external element attacked it there'd already be evidence of that.
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Post by godotwaits on Mar 9, 2014 20:18:27 GMT -5
Alas, it may be years before any explanation is devised. As in the case of the Air France or Long Island. And even then there will always be room for some amount of speculation. Absent any communication whatsoever, two stolen passports, and two more persons of interest as well, and a door in the water with some oil slicks nearby? Sounds like that sucker went down like a stone. And I would bet that someone somewhere had some fatal mischief up their sleeves. But, then again, that's just pure conjecture on my part. Maybe one of the Rolls Royces threw a fan blade straight through the electrical spinal cord. Probably be just as bad as a spark in the fuel tank. It's still a tragedy, one way or the other.
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Post by patrick on Mar 9, 2014 20:21:08 GMT -5
Now its being reported that the stolen passports were used by Europeans. So I guess they were European Uighurs.
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Post by theevan on Mar 9, 2014 20:56:55 GMT -5
Patrick, I understand the stolen/lost passports are European (Austrian & Italian) but I can find no report giving any clue as to the identitiy or nationality of the people using those two passports.
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Post by epaul on Mar 9, 2014 21:12:36 GMT -5
..................
(I misread a post. Nevermind.)
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