US to train Palestenian Officers

[charlietwo]

U.S. models program to train Palestinian officers after successful effort in Iraq

RAMALLAH— The United States is working to form a professional officer corps for the Palestinian Authority.

Officials said the U.S. effort, directed by security coordinator Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, began in 2009 and was designed to produced skilled and professional Palestinian officers. They said the program was based on similar courses provided by the U.S. military to its counterpart in Iraq.

"The idea is to build an officers corps based on patriotic and professional values rather than factional loyalty," an official said.

The so-called Senior Leaders Course has been conducted in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The two-month course focuses on basic skills, command and specialty training.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtri...0348_05_01.asp
----------------------

I wonder what that will consist of?

If you read further down it says we've already trained 80. Anyone else thinking this could be a bad idea?

[Richard]

Three battalions (or more) of Palestinians and a Palestinian state in crisis on Israel's front step - a potentially ominous situation is brewing for all concerned.

Richard's $.02

US General Builds A Palestinian Army
Robert Dreyfus, Nation, 10 May 2009

Last Thursday, in what was billed as his very first on-the-record address, Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, spoke to the 2009 Soref Symposium organized by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. WINEP, of course, is the chief thinktank for the Washington-based Israel lobby.

And in his talk, Gen. Dayton delivered an important warning.

First, the background. For the past three and a half years, Dayton has lived and worked in Jerusalem and across the West Bank, overseeing the creation of three Palestinian battalions of troops, hand-picked in the West Bank, trained at an academy in Jordan, and then deployed in the occupied territory.

The three 500-man battalions are intended to grow, to as many as ten battalions. Their mission, he said, is to "create a Palestinian state." Recognizing that many in the WINEP audience were not exactly enamored with the idea of an independent Palestine, Dayton told his audience: "If you don't like the idea of a Palestinian state, you won't like the rest of this talk."

From the detailed description provided by Dayton, it's clear that the Palestinian forces he's enabling could certainly be accused of carrying out the self-policing of the West Bank for the Israelis. Because the West Bank is, after all, occupied by Israel and riddled with illegal settlements besides -- plus beset by a surrounding wall, 600-plus intrusive checkpoints, and a network of Jews-only highways -- the Palestinian troops are utterly at the mercy of the Israelis. Each recruit is vetted by US security forces (i.e, the CIA), then vetted by Shin Bet, the domestic intelligence arm of Israel, and then by Jordan's super-efficient intelligence service, before they begin their training in Jordan. Dayton made it quite clear that the Palestinian units thus trained are primarily deployed against two targets in the West Bank: against criminal gangs, and against Hamas.

So far, they've received $161 million is US funding.

Dayton described how, during the Israeli assault on Gaza last December and January, the West Bank remained quiet -- even though some analysts were predicting an upsurge of sympathy for Hamas, which controls Gaza, along with violence, even a third intifada. "None of these predictions came true," said the general, who added that the Palestinian battalions allowed peaceful demonstrations of solidarity with Hamas, but kept the lid on violent actions. Israel, he said, "kept a low profile," and not a single Palestinian was killed in the West Bank during the three-week carnage in Gaza.

Most of the work he's done, Dayton said, occurred in the West Bank after the June, 2007, Hamas takeover in Gaza. "What we have created are 'new men,'" he added.

Now for the warning. Recognizing that by organizing and training thousands of Palestinian troops, professionally led, he is creating in effect a nationalist army, Dayton warned the 500 or so WINEP listeners that the troops can only be strung along for just so long. "With big expectations, come big risks," said Dayton. "There is perhaps a two-year shelf life on being told that you're creating a state, when you're not." To my ears, at least, his subtle warning is that if concrete progress isn't made toward a Palestinian state, the very troops Dayton is assembling could rebel.

Dayton was responding to a question from Paul Wolfowitz, the neoconservative former deputy secretary of defense, who now hangs his hat at the neocon-dominated American Enterprise Institute. "How many Palestinians see your people as collaborators?" Wolfowitz asked. In answering Wolfowtiz, the general acknowledged that Hamas and its sympathizers accuse the Palestinian battalions of being "enforcers of the Israeli occuption." But he stressed that each one of them believes that he is fighting for an independent Palestine. The unstated message: the United States and Israel had better deliver. Thus the two year warning. Which, to me, sounds spot on with the Obama administration's timetable.

One more thing: General Dayton signed up for another stint in the West Bank. And how long did he agree to serve? Yes--two years.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20...ion/1096434494

[The Reaper]

Maybe they should spend the entire time teaching them human rights.

TR

[abc_123]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Maybe they should spend the entire time teaching them human rights.

TR

That plus BRM and land navigation should pretty much take up all available training time.

[charlietwo]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Maybe they should spend the entire time teaching them human rights.

TR

That'd be like giving a class on "Paying Attention" to a class of first graders.

Does anyone see this bearing fruit in the future? It seems they're trying to put stop gaps up (vetting, etc), but that's relatively easy to bypass with the right amount of money.

[charlietwo]

Originally Posted by abc_123

That plus BRM and land navigation should pretty much take up all available training time.

How do you say resection in Arabic?

[Defend]

Originally Posted by charlietwo

How do you say resection in Arabic?

maybe اقسم بعدين (Aqsam badain). Just in case you ever need it and the translators are too busy figuring out how to explain "Human Rights" to an Arab audience ;-).

[greenberetTFS]

That'd be like giving a class on "Paying Attention" to a class of first graders. /quote/C2

I don't get it,why are we doing this unless it's for giving us a leg unto Palestenian soil..... I'm sure the Mosad (?) is wondering what we are up to!
But who am I to question the higher powers to be.................

GB TFS

[stuW]

Originally Posted by charlietwo

Officials said the U.S. effort, directed by security coordinator Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, began in 2009 and was designed to produced skilled and professional Palestinian officers. They said the program was based on similar courses provided by the U.S. military to its counterpart in Iraq.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/...ahu/index.html

The Israeli Prime Minister's view on a military in the West Bank may be in conflict with the current US involvement described in this thread.

Best regards,

Stu

(CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel would agree to a peace agreement with Palestinians under which there would be a "demilitarized Palestinian state."
Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he would agree to peace with Palestinians.

Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he would agree to peace with Palestinians.

The area under Palestinian control would have no army, would not control its airspace, and would not be allowed to bring in arms, Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu, who recently returned to the prime ministerial post he held 10 years ago, has previously not endorsed a two-state solution.

In his address, Netanyahu discussed the pain and loss through bloodshed on both sides of the conflict.

He said the root of the conflict lies in the refusal by the Palestinians to accept that the Jewish people have a homeland in Israel.

Netanyahu also called on Palestinian leaders to take immediate steps toward peace talks.

[monsterhunter]

Correct me if I am mistaken, but isn't this the same group of people who celebrated in the streets and passed out candy following 9/11? This is way out of my area of expertise, but IMHO, I think this is almost as bad as providing training to a Somalian police force.

Is the Palestinian government in anyway stable enough for us to provide them with any kind of training? It seems to me this would just help them to go about their business as usual, only kicked up a notch.