Racism: Geneva: Obama says UN conference's 'anti-Israel slant is hypocritical'

On the eve of the controversial Durban II UN conference on racism, US President Barack Obama lashed out at the language of its draft declaration, saying it showed "antagonism toward Israel in ways that were often times completely hypocritical and counterproductive."

UN anti-racism conference set to begin amid much controversy

The weeklong meeting in Geneva is widely expected to repeat the inflammatory, anti-Israel rhetoric that marred the first UN racism conference in Durban, South Africa, in 2001.

Explaining the US decision to boycott "with regret," Obama said in Trinidad on Sunday: "Hopefully, some concrete steps come out of the conference that we can partner with other countries on how to actually reduce discrimination around the globe, but this wasn't an opportunity to do it."

This is the same strategy used by former Prez Bush, and outlined by Ivo Daalder and James Lindsay in their book, America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy (2003) in which the UN is not conceived as normative whatever it decides on whatever issue, but rather in which the US may partner with "alliances of the willing" on specific world-problems, in this case racism.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman echoed Obama's remarks, calling it "a hypocrisy summit."

Britain's govt is joining keynoter Ahmadi-Nejad (yes, Iranian hatemonger and nuclear adventurist) in attendance at the event--while Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany and others have announced they will not be in attendance. Pope Benedict, however, thinks the conference is "necessary."

Of course, the UN bureaucracy is wringing its hands about the US position, but the UN is itself responsible for sponsoring a gathering on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day that previously was remarkable for its indiscipline and anti-humanity at Durban I in South Africa (2001) and now again apparently at Durban II in Geneva. The meeting is largely an Arab-states hate-fiesta against Jews and Israel, strategically designed to round-up as much of Africa and Asia as it can for arch-manipulative purposes. Iran (with only a minority of Arabs) competes with the Arab-majority states generally to lead the anti-Israel, anti-Semitic cabal.

-- Politicarp