US MILITARY TRAINING POTENTIAL TERRORISTS

The Philadelphia Bulletin has a report on how US Army forces in Jordan are lending themselves to training enemies of Israel:

Tel Aviv – A new report released by the Center for Near East Policy Research, a Jerusalem based think-tank, discusses the possible connection between American military aid and Palestinian terrorism, and deals with the Office of the U.S. Security Coordinator (USSC), run by Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton.

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Established in 2005, the USSC manages a multinational team of advisors, whose role is to restructure the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces and train personnel. American tax dollars pay for advanced military and constabulary training for the Palestinian security forces at bases in Jericho in Israel and Giftlik in Jordan. The cost of training an entire battalion of National Security Forces (NSF) troops in Jordan is $11 million.

Since 2008, approximately 2,100 troops, enough to make four battalions, have been trained by Americans in Jordan. The American government utilizes advisors from the DynCorp International Corporation for training Palestinian forces. The Palestinian Authority, American intelligence and the Israel General Security Services (Shabak) ensure the soldiers enrolled in American training programs are vetted for terrorist links.

However, there is evidence that many people in the Palestinian security apparatus are also members of banned terror groups.

The report elaborates, “Salam Fayyad, PA prime minister, reached an agreement with the forces of Al-Aqsa (Martyrs) Brigades … not to arrest them as long as they maintained a low profile. Al-Aqsa people are sheltered and receive salaries from Mr. Fayyad. When PA security troops were deployed in Nablus, Al-Aqsa people who had not been trained in Jordan and were not vetted, received command positions. This included one individual who had engaged in extortion.”

Some members of the Israeli political and military establishment have expressed their support for General Dayton and his program, citing a decline in terror in Judea and Samaria. In contrast, Mr. Bedein writes that the willingness to work with Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades indicates that the Palestinian Authority is not, in principal, opposed to the use of violence.

Operations mounted by PA forces are most often aimed at destroying Fatah’s rival, Hamas, rather than in reducing terrorism.

Fatah recently has been attempting to reconcile with Hamas, creating the possibility of American trained forces being merged into joint units with Hamas fighters.

There is also a risk of American trained forces turning on Israel. As Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stated, he “reserve(s) the right to resistance” if negotiations do not turn out the way he likes. This occurred during the second intifada when Yasser Arafat had failed to gain his demands by negotiations. During that period, American training was also used against Israeli civilian targets.

This is one more reason why it must be remembered that Fatah or PLO, whichever you call it, is still and always has been a terrorist organization. And this is how America's tax dollars are being exploited, instead of being used for more positive aspects.