From WNYC in New York, this is On the Media.

I'm Brooke Gladstone.

And I'm Bob Garfield.

In the American press, coverage of the uproar at the UN Conference on Racism in Durban, South Africa, has been uniform.

The conference was thrown into disarray when the American and Israeli

delegations walked out in protest of a harsh anti-Israel declaration linking Zionism with

racism and genocide. From the New York Times to the Fox News Channel, the controversy was framed

as an extreme and inflammatory rhetorical gambit

led by a block of Arab nations.

But what about elsewhere in the world?

How did the Durban debacle play out in the international press?

Joining us now is Martin Walker, Chief International correspondent for United Press International.

Martin, welcome to OTIM.

Hello.

The events in Durbin have given us a sort of deja vu to the 70s

and the non-aligned nations movement,

and that's how it played out in the U.S. press.

Was there a similar reaction in the European media?

No, it's been a very curious reaction in Europe.

The European press has been accustomed to being particularly critical of the United

States and particularly critical of President Bush in person. And you'd have thought that this decision

to walk out of the conference at Durban would have invited the usual kind of American bashing.

...