Obama Shows No Change From W. Bush

While the Geek was writing the last post, word came down that the Obama administration has decided "with regret" not to attend Durban II. The justification was that the changes in the Outcome Document were not sufficient.

The administration averred that the lingering reference to Durban I and its objectionable singling out of Israel as a racist violator of human rights as well as continuing odors of the Islamist backed restrictions on free expression made our participation undesirable. The administration is correct in pointing out the deficiencies in the Outcome Document. It is wrong in choosing to surrender the field to the enemy.

History shows that refusal to participate has never advanced US interests. Nor has it served to make the world a better place for humans. From our non-participation in the League of Nations to our refusal to sign the Kyoto Accord, from our policy on non-recognition of the Soviet Union to our isolation of Cuba, the lifting of American moral skirts from the mud of combat with adverse forces has worked to our long term disadvantage.

Apparently the Obama administration--or the president himself--has failed to learn one diddly damn thing from history. From American history. From the history of the past few years even.

Well, presumably the Israel Lobby and the State of Israel are happy with the decision. The bitch is this: By staying away from the Durban II conference, the US has acted in a way which erodes rather than increases the long-term stability and prospects for peace in the Mideast. In short, the pressures of the Israel Lobby and the Government of Israel will prove in the long haul to be against their interests.

And ours.

And the world's.