 Saudi Arabia called for denying proponents of violence a safe haven and said an international conference it plans to host next month was part of its drive to combat terrorism.
| Does that mean they're going to chop the heads off a few holy men as examples? |
| Now now, let's not be hasty ... |
The oil-rich kingdom "calls on all peace-loving states to pursue a comprehensive action in the framework of international legitimacy to eradicate terrorism," King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz said in a message to more than 2.5 million Muslims performing the annual hajj pilgrimage. "Combating terrorism requires international cooperation against harboring terrorist elements and groups and preventing them from using the territories of the countries in which they live as a springboard for their subversive activities, irrespective of motives and arguments," they said in the message, carried by the official SPA news agency.
| Wonder if that means Dawood Ibrahim's going to be returning to Olde Mumbai any time soon? |
The call appeared to be directed at Western countries, chiefly Britain, hosting opponents of the Saudi regime whom Riyadh has occasionally linked to the violence practiced by Islamist extremists at home.
| Oh. I see. I'd be happy to see Britain dump all the al-Qaeda front men and cannon fodder infesting her streets, but I'd hate to see them arrive in Soddy Arabia to heroes' welcomes. |
An international counter-terrorism conference due to be held in the Saudi capital Riyadh from February 5 to 8 is "one manifestation of the kingdom's persistent efforts to combat this global scourge," Fahd and Abdullah said. The gathering will be attended by counter-terrorism experts and representatives of countries which have been the target of terrorist attacks, the Saudi leaders added. Since May 2003, Saudi Arabia has been battling a wave of terror by presumed Islamist extremists from Al-Qaeda, who have killed more than 100 people and wounded hundreds more in a spate of bombings and shootings.
| Finally settled on a definition of terrorism, have we? |
Saudi Arabia, whose ties with the United States were strained in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks in which 15 of 19 hijackers were Saudi, was exempted by a U.S. federal judge from prosecution over the attacks. The United States has been invited to next month's conference in Riyadh. King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah marked the start of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha on Thursday with a call on Muslims to disavow terrorism, which they said was taboo in Islam, a point they have repeatedly made.
| Has it repeatedly worked? Or is this another in a long string of failed utterances? |
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