| Saudi Arabia told the U.N. General Assembly on Monday it would host an international conference on terrorism in its capital Riyadh Feb. 5-8, the first by the oil-rich nation. "The purpose is to exchange information and experience in the field of combating terrorism and to see how we can cooperate with other countries in the fight toward this universal threat," said Nizar Obaid Madani, the Saudi foreign ministry undersecretary. He said such a conference, which would include international organizations, could also review techniques for money laundering, drug smuggling and gun-running. But he gave no details on who was invited or who would attend. But Madani made clear Israel would not be asked, accusing the Jewish state of drawing its own boundaries, conducting aerial bombardments and assassinations of Palestinians. "The setback in the peace process and the mounting wave of violence and extremism in the region are largely attributable to the pursuit by the Israeli government of policies that are totally incompatible with the fundamental principles of the peace process," he said. |