Today sees the start in Riyadh of the first international conference on terrorism, which is being attended by leading counterterrorism experts from 50 countries. That Saudi Arabia, which has been one of the states in the front line against terrorism is hosting this key meeting is in part a testament to the relative success that the Kingdom's security force’s have had against Al-Qaeda thugs since they began their campaign of terror here in May 2003.
No one pretends for a moment that the terrorists operating in the Kingdom have been destroyed. However, after a faltering start in which peaceable Saudi society as a whole was taken by surprise, the forces of law and order have scored a series of significant victories against the bombers and assassins. The fight goes on, in the Kingdom as in the rest of the world, but the fact that so many top level delegations dedicated to the destruction of terrorism have chosen to meet in Riyadh recognizes our achievement.
It also recognizes something even more important. The extent of the shame and disgust felt here that most of the 9/11 killers were Saudi citizens was not initially appreciated among some of our foreign allies. There were dark and galling suggestions that support for terror went further than the handful of lunatics who could behave with such barbarity. This complete inversion of reality has since been corrected and the Kingdom’s hosting of such an important anti-terror gathering is a clear acknowledgement of the fact. The proceedings of the next four days will of course be secret. The event however is likely to be most important for the opportunities that it gives the counterterrorism experts from around the world to meet and get to know each other, while comparing experiences and best practice in open forums. As delegations make their plenary presentations to each other, a wider and better picture of the challenge the civilized world faces from terrorists is certain to emerge. This is a war which cannot be won by any single state, however powerful. The rooting out of this great evil can only come about by the effective working together of a myriad of different agencies from different countries. Once the terrorists could hope that unreliable communications between their hunters would allow them to escape the international dragnet. Meetings like this in Riyadh are encouraging proof that such advantages for the terrorists will be decreasing yet further.
There will be one crucial issue which delegates will be addressing in the next four days. This is the fighting of terrorism by attacking its root causes, by confronting the issues which terrorists have distorted to build their power bases and support. Terror networks may be smashed time and again but unless the issues that these killers hijack for their own evil ends are confronted squarely by the international community, they cannot be destroyed once and for all.
All decent people, in Saudi Arabia no less than everywhere else around the world ardently wish those gathered in Riyadh a successful and productive meeting in the coming days.
