Report: U.S. set to join UN-backed Israel-bashing group

The Bush administration boycotted the group when it was founded in 2005 over because it feared the group 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 United States for many of the world’s problems.

Since President Barack Obama came into office last year, the United States has opened the door slowly to informal dealings with the alliance, including attending some of its meetings as an observer…

The decision to join grows out of Obama’s desire to broaden US participation in international groups and improve its standing among Muslims.