As Anne Bayefsky notes in detail below, the Obama administration’s decision to participate in preparations for Durban II is a worrisome development, betraying the kind of foreign policy fecklessness and deference to despots that was a hallmark of the Carter administration.

Durban I was an anti-West (with particular animus directed toward the U.S. and Israel) orgy wherein representatives from repressive, totalitarian regimes denounced democratic capitalism while demanding reparations from its practitioners. Think of the most pyrotechnic excerpts from Reverend Wright sermons and you’ll get the picture — except these sermons were coming from people who implement state policy.

Durban II preparations are being led by Libya, Iran, and Cuba. That, by itself, should provide a bit of insight. If the Obama administration believes its participation in the Durban II bashfest can have a salutary effect on the human rights policies of these regimes, we’re in for a long four years.