| My initial reaction is: "Whoopdy doo." |
Anti-terror experts and heads of state are converging on Madrid to identify the causes of international terrorism and explore ways of reducing the threat.
| I didn't get an invitation. Did you get an invitation, Dan? Steve? Em? Steve? |
| It would be a mighty short conference if they invited me ... |
| They asked, but that's my day to clean the litter box. |
The gathering coincides with the anniversary of last year's Madrid train bombings that shocked Spain and brought the full impact of Islamic terrorism to Europe. It will tackle questions such as whether countries are cooperating enough, whether the flow of money can be stopped in today's interconnected world and what role does - or should - the media play. The conference will open today (Tuesday) with panel discussions, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is to make a policy statement on terrorism on Thursday. The meeting's date and place were chosen to commemorate last year's March 11 train bombing in downtown Madrid that killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,500.
| Brilliant. You've got an international movement dedicated to the destruction of the West, and what do you do? Form a committee. |
About two dozen presidents, prime ministers or kings are to join about 200 experts from 50 countries who will present their research on the causes and financing of extremism and religious-based violence. The meeting is to end on Friday with recommendations on how governments could work together to curtail the threat.
| The recommendations will then be filed with all the previous recommendations from all the previous committees. |
World leaders attending the conference will include Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, as well the head of Russia's National Security Council, Igor Ivanov, and US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Pakistan's President Gen Pervez Musharraf and former US President Bill Clinton might also attend, said Andrew Hazell, head of media relations for the conference.
| Is Bono going to be there? |
The conference brings together countries that have suffered major attacks, such as Spain and the US, and others where political violence is part of daily life. In Algeria, an Islamic insurgency has raged since 1992. Spanish conference participants said last week that governments must address the causes of terrorism in order to defeat it, rather than lashing out as the United States did in Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks in 2001. "The consensus is a 'soft' power approach based on prevention - not like the US has in mind, but (rather) with engagement with North African Muslim nations, economic development, assimilating and integrating immigrants into host nations," said Charles Powell, a history professor at San Pablo-CEU University in Madrid.
| My reaction after due consideration is "Whoopdy doo." |
This conference follows what Roger Ebert, in talking about movies, used to call an "idiot plot" -- that is, the only way for the movie in question to continue is if the major characters each acted like idiots. The first time any one of them did the first sensible thing you or I would do, the mystery would be solved and the movie would be over.
This is an "idiot conference" -- if they invited me, Fred, Em, Dan or Steve, the mysterious causes of international terrorism would be solved and the conference would be over before the seven-course lunch was served. Can't have that. Hence (ergo), no invitation. |
|