Article

2008-06-25 Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Former U.S. officer training Hamas military

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2008-06-25 14:28|| || Front Page|| [4 views ] Top

#1 It is possible that a) he renounced his citizenship,
b) he never really was an officer, or c) he is a citizen and therefore a traitor.

Posted by Rambler in California">Rambler in California 2008-06-25 14:45|| 2008-06-25 14:45|| Front Page Top

#2 it could also be possible he's a plant.

Though why a plant would talk to the press is still one ive got to figure out

Posted by liberalhawk 2008-06-25 15:02|| 2008-06-25 15:02|| Front Page Top

#3 Looks like he was a Fatah guy in Gaza who switched over while the getting was good. Doesn't appear he's an American or a former US officer.

(IsraelNN.com) Fares Al-Ashi, who was trained by Americans in South Carolina when Fatah controlled Gaza security forces, is using his education to teach Hamas loyalists to be martyrs, according to the Chinese new agency Xinhua. He said he gives his trainees information about explosives as part of a new Hamas police training program.

The "martyr Aziz Massoud" course is named after a terrorist, one of the police trainers, who was killed in an IDF strike in February. "Every program should carry the name of a martyr," Al-Ashi said

The United States has trained hundreds of Fatah "militia" members who were part of the elite Presidential Guard, a private army that was envisioned as protecting Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas form a Hamas coup. However, the Americans suffered an embarrassing defeat when Hamas overran Fatah forces in Gaza last year.

A training manual distributed by American Secret Service officers, with the logo of the Counterterrorism Training Group and the U.S. government seal, was a teaching manual for Al-Ashi and other former Fatah terrorists who switched to Hamas.

Posted by tu3031 2008-06-25 15:18|| 2008-06-25 15:18|| Front Page Top

#4 Lessons learned?

Posted by Creretch McGurque4847 2008-06-25 15:46|| 2008-06-25 15:46|| Front Page Top

#5 If Ashi truly was an officer in the US Army, he has to be a US citizen. Non-citizens can elist but only citizens can be commissioned.

Well for reserve commission it is -

(1) he is a citizen of the United States or has been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.);

Posted by Procopius2k 2008-06-25 15:48|| 2008-06-25 15:48|| Front Page Top

#6 Same as Creretch.

Also,
who were part of the elite Presidential Guard, (...) embarrassing defeat when Hamas overran Fatah forces in Gaza last year.

Again, "elite" seems to have a different meaning in some places, more akin to "political reliability", I guess. Btw, how come I've noticed the "elite" tag is seldom applied not only to say US special forces types, but also never to british royal marines or 2nd REP or similar western first-lines troops???
Would I detect a very, very subtly hidden bias from news agencies fawning over insurgents and hard boyz??? Gee.

Posted by anonymous5089 2008-06-25 16:01|| 2008-06-25 16:01|| Front Page Top

#7 HMMMMM....

Posted by JosephMendiola 2008-06-25 18:13|| 2008-06-25 18:13|| Front Page Top

#8 Joe nails it this time! (again)

Posted by Muggsy Gling 2008-06-25 21:52|| 2008-06-25 21:52|| Front Page Top

23:55 crosspatch
23:51 Sliter Jones4229
23:24 Abu do you love
23:22 g(r)omgoru
22:54 JosephMendiola
22:49 Hellfish
22:45 ReaganLives
22:34 tu3031
22:19 Old Patriot
22:18 Procopius2k
22:12 Frank G
22:10 Frank G
22:03 one eyed wolf
21:59 Abdominal Snowman
21:58 JosephMendiola
21:56 JosephMendiola
21:52 Muggsy Gling
21:50 JohnQC
21:48 JosephMendiola
21:44 JohnQC
21:42 JohnQC
21:39 ed
21:37 JohnQC
21:29 ed