Yesterday in Riyadh

In the speeches given on day one of the “no Jews allowed” global anti-terror conference convened by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh and attended by Iran and the United States, there was a certain palpable absence noted in the Reuters report: “Speakers at the formal opening session all condemned terrorism but none made direct reference to Saudi-born Osama bin Laden or his al Qaeda network which was behind the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities and blamed for a wave of attacks in Africa, Europe and Asia.”
On the other hand, it is left to us to note the omissions from the speech given by the leader of the American delegation:

Frances Townsend, homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush, praised what she said was Saudi Arabia’s increasingly effective response and improved cooperation with Washington.
“The Saudis really are making substantial progress,” Townsend told reporters.
She said al Qaeda attacks in December on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah and the Interior Ministry in Riyadh were both “fairly rudimentary and poorly planned,” and the authorities’ response had been swift, aggressive and successful.
“With the resources the Saudis have put into it, I think it becomes increasingly difficult for the (militant) cells here in the Saudi kingdom to reconstitute themselves,” said Townsend, who also praised Muslim leaders in the cradle of Islam for publicly condemning terrorism.

Townsend fails to note the Saudis’ rather constrained definition of terrorism or the incitement of Muslims to jihad in the name of Islam that is the routine fare spread by the Wahhabi clergy. More than three years after 9/11, isn’t this act wearing a little thin?
UPDATE: The estimable Jack Risko of Dinocrat claims that our coverage of the conference in Saudi Arabia has inspired him to post this.

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