U.S. training Fatah in anti-terror tactics Underlying motive is to counter strength of Hamas, analysts say

Matthew Kalman, San Francisco Chronicle

U.S. officials training Palestinian security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas are emphasizing urban anti-terrorist techniques as part of a systematic effort to bolster Abbas and his Fatah loyalists to counter the political success of Hamas, according to Palestinian analysts and officers receiving the training. But one officer who has received the training says the purpose of the newly beefed-up force is to protect the Palestinian president from assassination. The Presidential Guard, made up entirely of Fatah activists loyal to Abbas, has been increased to 1,000, up from about 90 officers under his predecessor, Yasser Arafat...

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