Mere Rhetoric: Memo To Foreign Policy Sophisticates - You'd Sound A Lot Less Stupid If You Stopped Mixing Your Condescension With Demonstrably False Fantasies Of Competence

Do you notice how Israeli security concerns are always dismissed by purported foreign specialists?And how those dismissals always come in the most condescending ways possible? And how those specialists are always wrong? There was the UNIFIL commander who all but rolled his eyes about Israeli security concerns, assuring them condescendingly that his people were patrolling "every corner" of South Lebanon. That was two days before two Katyushas launched from some corner of South Lebanon hit an Israeli city.

Then there's US Lt-Gen Keith Dayton, the guy responsible for training Fatah troops. A month before Hamas took over Gaza, he imperiously tried to get Israel to make massive security concessions to the Palestinians. His statements - to say nothing of his demeanor - gave the impression that Fatah's weakness was Israel's fault. It obviously wasn't the brilliant and cutting edge training that he was giving the Palestinians, because as far as that was concerned "the security force loyal to Abbas was demonstrating satisfactory progress and... he detected signs that Hamas was weakening" (which also makes him just a stunningly insightful military analyst). Turns out he was spouting the the same nonsense - in more or less the same tone - all over Washington:

The U.S. security coordinator for the Palestinians, Lieutenant General Keith Dayton, who is in charge of strengthening Abbas' security forces, came to Washington a few weeks ago with a positive assessment of the consolidation of the presidential guard and the Fatah forces subordinate to Abbas. He claimed they were holding their own in the battles against Hamas, and to skeptics he suggested the "telephone test." "Phone the Karni crossing," Dayton said. "If a Fatah man answers the phone, that's a sign that Fatah has won the battle."

That's how these people talk. You've got a relatively robust assessment that indicates that maybe the Palestinians aren't so ready for peace talks? Ha ha - "you're an unnuanced simpleton - here's something even a simpleton like you can do - you do know how to use a phone, right?". It'd be mildly aggravating for people who are so consistently wrong to carry themselves like this, were it not already so tragic.

References:
* Katyushas Hit Israel Two Days After UNIFIL Commander Promises Peace [MR]
* A moment of clarity [Ha'aretz]
* US To Bring Abject Failure Of Security Assistance To West Bank, Renew Pressure On Israel. What Could Go Wrong? [MR]
* US Security Envoy Blames Israel For Palestinian Rocket Attack On Israel. Or Something. [Video] [MR]

Previously:
* Things That Are Awesome About The Recent "Don't Worry About the Strange, Nazi-Like Iranian Behind the Curtain" LA Times / CFR Article
* US State Department: Lebanon Is Not Responsible for Hezbollah
* Memo To Diplomatic Sophisticates: Ahmadinejad Did Not Get The Part Where You Meeting With Him and Being Nice To Him Was A 'Criticism'

Cross-posted to:
* Israpundit
* The Astute Bloggers