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| Arabia |
| Nayef asks media to help put out the Saudi line |
| 2004-10-09 |
| Saudi Arabia's interior minister appealed to regional news media Saturday to help combat "improper ideas" that lead young people to support extremist movements. Speaking before a meeting with his counterparts from Persian Gulf nations, Prince Nayef said Arab journalists need to confront Islamic militancy. "We insist that the media participates with us in fighting terrorism," he said. "No matter how hard we work and no matter what the security apparatus does, it is not the solution. The solution is in an intellectual effort that removes these improper ideas and brings back to the right path those who went astray." He also said Gulf countries are committed to uprooting terrorism. "Terrorism is rejected and, unfortunately, I say with pain that those who carry it out are citizens of ours, and it is attributed to Muslims and Arabs," he said. The prince raised the media issue to avoid responding directly to a question about Saudi reaction to Thursday night's coordinated bombing attacks on Israeli tourists in the Egyptian resorts of Taba and Ras Shitan. Some Israeli officials believe the al-Qaida terror network was most likely behind the attack. Condemning attacks against Israelis is awkward for Arab governments, whose peoples' sympathies lie firmly with the Palestinians in their fight with Israel. Abdulrahman al-Attiyah, secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, also sidestepped direct condemnation of the attacks. The six-nation group believes "the lack of a fair and comprehensive peace for all parties on the issue of Palestine and the Middle East motivates such acts," he said. "What happened at the Taba Hilton should not be looked at in isolation of this truth." Nayef said the government's crackdown on militants has killed important operatives "but we can't say (terrorism) is over until we are sure of that on the ground." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #3 Easy for you to say. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-10-09 7:53:54 PM |
| #2 FUCKA BUNCHA SAUDIS! |
| Posted by: Glereger Cligum6229 2004-10-09 7:02:41 PM |
| #1 with all that "wink-wink" going on he probably just convinced them he had a facial tic |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-09 1:53:23 PM |