NATIVE MERCENARIES

rough draft

Basing his commentary on an article by the Jewish Right’s civilizer of Arabs, Thomas Friedman, Abdel-Bari Atwan, Editor of Al-Quds al-Arabi (Palestinian nationalist, Arab nationalist, Islamic nationalist) bitterly brought up the issue of the new mercenaries. These are Palestinian, but they're funded and trained by a harmful idiot by the name of Keith Dayton. (“[Keith] Dayton’s Palestinian Republic,” www.alquds.co.uk, 2/8/09.)

The harmful idiots (my words, but please feel free to spread them) claim that these troops are meant to spread the state’s control over the state’s borders. But what borders, asks Atwan, and what state? Atwan notes that Dayton escorted the civilizer of Arabs (my words) to the town of Jenine to show off his achievement: the native mercenaries of the no-state. Atwan bitterly refers to Dayton as these troops’ “master.” That the way the civilizer of Arabs described the salute to Dayton by the Second Division of these troops -- that such military salute indicated that these troops followed Dayton’s orders, and not those of any other authority -- referring not-so-implicitly to the asset of the harmful idiots/Israelis, Mahmoud Abbas.

“And it seems that Dayton’s troops have in fact begun to execute their mission so completely,” writes Atwan, referring to the suppression by these native mercenaries (my words) of those who wanted to protest Israel’s attack on Gaza. Atwan contrasted the bahavior of these native mercenaries towards those Palestinians and the respect they give to Israelis. He was referrring to these mercenaries' inaction at the sight of Israeli colonialist settlers attacking Palestinians in al-Khalil around one month ago. He noted that those being attacked had dared ask one of the commanders of these native mercenaries to intervene. His answer was that his orders were not to intervene against Israelis.

That Dayton would focus on the town of Jenine to show off his achcievement is, to Atwan, obvious for its symbolism. Jenine is known for its heroism, writes Atwan. Its refugee camp, only one square kilometer in area, had resisted the attacking Israelis for ten days and had killed 26 of them and wounded 36.

“Therefore, the goal behind the formation of these troops and their ‘fattening’ and the spending of millions of dollars on their training , is not to prepare for the establishment of the Palestinian state, but to prevent such, and to bless the current occupation,” writes Atwan.

“Dayton’s security troops which now count 1600 had been trained in Jordan; they're currently being readied to welcome into their fold another 500 who [currently] are being trained similarly; [these security troops] would have as their task the defense of the [Israeli colonial] settlements, the repression with force of any Palestinian resistance, and to work side-by-side with their Israeli counterpart (...), [to] put an end to [Palestinian] nationalism.”

It seems that the American plan for the West Bank, as revealed by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, is to raise the standard of living as alleged prelude to establishing the Palestinian state. Benjamin Netanyahu has caught on to this plan and is now campaigning for “the economic peace” with the Palestinians while promising not to return the West Bank and the Joulan to their Arab owners. In other words, Atwan is saying that the American plan for the West Bank is very much the Israeli: to create native mercenaries, pay them well, allegedly raise the standard of living of the Palestinians -- all to wipe out the Palestinian national identity and Palestinian nationalism, and do away with the Arab demand that their land be returned to them.

Atwan pokes bitter fun of the statements by one commander of the native mercenaries -- to the effect that the Palestinians are welcome to protest the attack on Gaza so long as they protest in a civilized manner. Did he mean a la far-away Europeans: to stand in the night and light candles while their brothers in Gaza die. Besides, he notes, how can the Palestinians protest, anyway, at a time when Israeli soldiers are debasing and insulting them daily and the settlers are attacking them.

Atwan concludes:


They want the Palestinian people to become busy with its monthly paycheck, with money coming from donor countries. They want that people to forget its cause. And those who will not accept the contract (paycheck for repressing national feeling) will have to deal with Dayton’s troops including, he warns, the possibility of torture.

“It’s a bleak future that awaits the Palestinian people under the General Dayton and his plans and [the plans of those] who believe in him. What is more depressing yet in our view is the presence of a Palestinian leadership which gives him the space [to execute his plans], and provides him with [the needed] ‘cover of legitimacy’ (...)”