China races to rescue hostages as suicide bombing rocks Iraq

...so the shrub would not like it if China took sides with Iraq???

BAGHDAD, Jan. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- The Chinese government on Wednesday stepped up its rescue efforts to secure the release of eight Chinese nationals kidnapped by Iraqi militants.

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The Chinese government on Wednesday dispatched officials to contact mediators in Iraq in an attempt to secure the release of the hostages. Meanwhile, it warned its nationals against travels to Iraq.

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A video tape from the pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV channel showed on Tuesday the eight Chinese being flanked by masked gunmen. The kidnappers asked the Chinese government to make clear its positionon Iraq as a condition for their release.

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"All of the Iraqi people know the attitude of the Chinese people toward the Iraqi issue, and I am optimistic that the kidnapped Chinese will be released soon," Sheikh Harith Al Dhari, head of the Islamic Scholars Association, told Xinhua at a press conference.

"As long as the kidnappers claim themselves to be an Islamic party, I feel that the lives of the kidnapped are not in danger," he said. He called on the kidnappers to release them immediately, saying he "appreciated the stand taken by the Chinese people" who are friends and supporters of the Iraqi people.

more....

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-01/20/content_2485702.htm

American nationals. You KNOW the US wouldn't lift a finger to try & rescuse any Americans.

Every day in every way, America is starting to take the lead in nasty evil-doer rogue-state regimes; hell, the latest HRW and AI reports on the USA read like Saudi's.