Obama's cadre of foreign policy experts insist that - no matter how much of a hatefest Durban II becomes - there's never any harm in just talking. That's 100% true. Unless you count undermining British and Italian objections to the bigoted spectacle...

Britain and Italy could join Canada and Israel in refusing to attend the Durban II Review Conference in April unless they receive cast-iron guarantees that it will not turn into an antisemitic, anti-Israel arena of hate. The conference, to be held in Geneva, is a follow-up to the UN World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. The Durban conference became notorious for its unbridled attacks on Israel, led by Iran and a number of other Arab states. This time, a number of countries are awaiting a final decision by America -- which has agreed to send a delegation to Geneva for an organisational meeting in the next few days -- before they clarify their position. Jewish NGOs held an informal meeting on Sunday before the start of the conference to agree their strategy.

... and muting Israeli objections to the display of anti-Semitism...

My worry is this: Israel should be very careful not to be perceived as an obstacle on America's road to world acceptability. Unless public opinion is mobilized against this distorted version of a human rights forum by other (namely, non-Jewish) leaders concerned about human rights, dramatic Israeli objection will have unfortunate consequences -- either because Obama will choose to take part and give credence to the conference or because the enemies of Israel will be able to argue that by lobbying against Durban it has damaged American interests.

... as "costs." If you do count those then Obama's fetish for engagement is incurring a huge cost. At the very least it legitimizes anti-Jewish discourse, putting it on the spectrum of acceptable public debate. It also apparently prevents those who would shun that debate from walking out and those who would condemn it from afar from speaking.

But I guess it could go either way.

References:
* The Durban Dilemma [Commentary]
* Britain and Italy threaten to drop out of Durban II [The JC]

Previously:
* Marty Peretz: Based On All Available Evidence I Disagree With Susan Rice, Who Is Nonetheless Awesome In Every Way (Plus: Misguided Victim-Complex Paranoia On The Pro-Israel Right)
* Austrian Jews Too Terrified To List Their Children As Jewish (Plus: Europe Reaches An Anti-Jewish Tipping Point)
* Human Rights NGOs: We Don't Talk About Hamas's War Crimes Because They're Too Blatant And Savage