This report doesn't say much about the nature of the group, the "Alliance of Civilizations." This description by
the great Bat Ye'or, from this article by Pamela Geller is a good starting point:
The Alliance of Civilizations, created to oppose the clash of civilizations, that is jihad, has also added pressure. On 13 November 2006, the High-Level Group of the Alliance of Civilizations presented its report, which sums up the request of the OIC at its Mecca Summit in 2005, after the Cartoons affair. First, it adopts the Islamic view of history and politics by claiming that everything was fine between the three monotheistic religions until the 19th century, when the evil of European colonialism and Zionism destroyed this harmony."
... the Alliance "affirms that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the main source of Christian-Muslim antagonism, not the jihadist war and ideology that deny for others the right to exist.
In other words, it's more business as usual for Obama, making enemies of friends in an attempt to make friends
with enemies. More background on this group can be found here, and here.
"AP sources: US to join advisory group once shunned," by Matthew Lee for the Associated Press, May 12:
WASHINGTON -- U.S. officials say the Obama administration is preparing to join an international advisory group that the United States has largely shunned over fears it would adopt anti-Israeli and anti-Western stances.
The officials say the administration plans to announce soon it will begin a formal relationship with the Alliance of Civilizations.
The alliance is a United Nations-backed organization that seeks to ease strains between societies and cultures, particularly the West and Islam, and promote better ties. However, the U.S. boycotted the group when it was founded in 2005 over concerns it would become a forum for bashing Israel and the United States.
The officials say those concerns have now been addressed. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the move publicly.
The officials told The Associated Press the administration plans to announce as early as this week that it will begin
a formal relationship with the Alliance of Civilizations.
The five-year-old, U.N.-backed organization aims to ease strains between societies and cultures, particularly
the West and Islam.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the decision publicly.
The Bush administration boycotted the group when it was founded in 2005 over concerns it would become a forum for bashing Israel and the United States. Those concerns were magnified a year later when the alliance released a report that officials in Washington said unfairly blamed Israel and the U.S. for many of the world's problems.
Since President Barack Obama came into office last year, the U.S. has slowly opened the door to informal dealings with the alliance, including attending some of its meetings as an observer.
But the U.S. had yet to join the alliance by becoming a member of its "Group of Friends," countries and organizations that have lent their names and support to its goal of countering the rise of religious extremism and cultural polarization.
The decision to join grows out of Obama's desire to broaden U.S. participation in international groups and improve its standing in the Muslim world.
Earlier moves have included Obama's thus-far failed outreach to Iran and Syria, his speech last year to the Muslim world in Cairo and the U.S. decision to join the much-criticized U.N. Human Rights Commission.
The U.S. also participated in preparatory meetings for a U.N. conference on racism that the administration ultimately boycotted over anti-Semitism concerns.
The U.S. had been the only member of the Group of 20 major advanced and emerging economies to refuse to join the friends group, which now includes 118 countries and organizations.
Many nations in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia are members along with multilateral blocs including the Arab League and Organization of the Islamic Conference. Israel and the U.S. have been among the conspicuous holdouts.
The officials said earlier fears about the "imbalances" in the group, which was set up by Spain and Turkey, had been addressed after the U.S. expressed "serious concerns" about the 2006 report.
That report focused on the Middle East and identified Israel's "disproportionate retaliatory actions in Gaza and Lebanon" as a main cause of Muslim-Western tension.
The officials said the administration had been assured by its current leader, former Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio, that it would take a "more positive" approach to its work.
The officials said they had consulted closely with Israel on the decision to join the alliance. Israel has no plans to join, diplomats said.
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