World delegates endorse Saudi proposal for international anti-terror center News
World delegates endorse Saudi proposal for international anti-terror center

[JURIST] Delegates from 50 countries, including terrorism-affected countries such as Syria and Iran, endorsed a Saudi proposal for an international counter-terrorism center Tuesday, although details regarding its location, funding, and role remain unclear. A draft declaration from the Counter-Terrorism International Conference [official website] in Riyadh called for the establishment of "an International Counter-Terrorism Center staffed by experts … in order to share real-time information to adequately prevent attacks." Many delegates, while supporting the measure, expressed doubt that creation of such an center would actually come to pass. One hurdle is finding a way for intelligence agencies to agree to pool operational information with a large number of other countries. Despite the serious practical problems faced, delegates saw the conference as an important signal that Saudi Arabia is committed to fighting terrrorism both at home and abroad. US Homeland Security advisor Frances Townsend [White House profile], who leads the US delegation, merely said that anything done to increase sharing of counter-terrorism intelligence "is a net gain." Reuters has more.