Egyptian officials did not miss the opportunity this week to promote their decade-old call for organising an international anti-terrorism conference as the best means of stamping out terrorism worldwide. Cairo also made it clear that Egypt would not take part in any military coalition planning military retaliation against Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden….

While offering Egypt's assistance in the investigation, Cairo said that Washington was moving too fast and not sharing any of the evidence it has implicating Bin Laden….

President Mubarak also kept a high profile in the Western media through interviews counselling the US not to rush to retaliatory action. "Don't be in a hurry, wait until you have hard evidence against those who committed this crime, then action can be taken," Mubarak said in an interview with BBC television. "We shouldn't jump to conclusions without a full investigation. Act against [perpetrators], not against a country."

Mubarak also stressed that he will not commit any Egyptian troops to a coalition. "Let's not talk about Egyptian forces," he told the BBC. "The US and British forces are enough. They are much more capable than Egypt in that [respect]." Mubarak also warned that waging a war against Bin Laden or Afghanistan would "create a whole generation which will be working in terrorism." ….

Mubarak said that it was too early to form a coalition against so nebulous an enemy as 'terrorism'. He stressed that what is needed is a combined effort by the world community to combat the forces that give rise to terrorism….

Egyptian officials focused attention on their favourite subject of organising an international conference under the auspices of the UN to combat terrorism -- a call Egypt first made a decade ago. "I asked for an international conference to reach a convention [binding on] all countries in order to avoid such catastrophic incidents," Mubarak told Larry King on CNN. But in the 1990s, Mubarak's call fell on deaf ears as terrorism at the time appeared to be a purely domestic Egyptian issue. "But I say terrorism is an international phenomenon that is more dangerous than war," Mubarak said.

During the 1990s, Egypt witnessed a rash of terrorist attacks by militant Islamists who targeted security as well as civilian targets. This wave of terrorism culminated in the 1997 Luxor temple massacre, which resulted in the deaths of 47 tourists. Since then, there has been a lull in violence after the state struck back hard against terrorism. During Egypt's recent struggle with terrorism -- which included an attempt on Mubarak's life in 1995 in Addis Ababa -- Mubarak often warned the West that eventually they too will suffer the results of giving refuge to suspected terrorists under the pretext of political asylum.

Mubarak told NBC that countries must stop giving refuge to terrorists on the grounds of protecting human rights. "Arguments of human rights [abuses] should not be put forward on all occasions. Those who carry out terrorist acts have no claim to human rights," Mubarak said. Later, he told CNN that although Egypt stamped out terrorism at home, there are "many [militant] elements in other countries who are very active, they are in Europe ... but no one listened to us."

It does not seem, however, that the proposed conference will take place any time soon…..

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