Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON —  A report by a former U.S. senior adviser said that President Barack
Obama has changed the American security mission in the West Bank.

The report, titled “How Obama Missed an Opportunity for Middle East Peace,” said Obama replaced U.S. security coordinator Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton with a general from Central Command in an effort to limit the use of diplomacy as a means to build the PA security forces and stabilize the West Bank.

“Although the State Department and administration officials deny it,
Palestinian and Israeli officials report that in the aftermath of Dayton’s departure, the role of his successor, Lt. Gen. Michael Moeller, has been maneuvered to focus more formally on the traditional ‘train and equip’ model, with an eye toward establishing of a more detached Department of Defense Office of Defense Cooperation,” the report, authored by Steven White and P.J. Dermer, said.

After more than five years, Dayton resigned in October 2010 in wake of
tension with the PA. The report, published in Foreign Policy magazine, said
Moeller was ordered to modify the U.S. security mission in the West Bank to ensure a
less personal approach.

“This is a far cry from the involved, personal trust- and
consensus-building roles played by Dayton,” the report, released on June 8,
said.

White served as senior U.S. adviser to the PA and Dermer worked as a
U.S. Army attache in Israel. The two have been working on a history of the
U.S. security mission in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which began in 2005.

“Obama’s Middle East team to date has sought to diminish Dayton’s role
rather than build on the USSC’s successes in the field,” the report said.
“By 2010, unnamed administration officials were holding forth that he was
‘very difficult to deal with’ and ‘excessively deferential toward Israeli
security assessments.’ ”

In the end, Dayton left his post without providing a review of his
mission to Obama. He was also not allowed to give his final testimony to
Congress, which the report said was blocked by the State Department.

“Finally, he was not asked for either an after-action report or an
assessment of the five years he worked to advance successive U.S.
administrations’ peace-process efforts in the region,” the report said.

The report said more than 5,000 PA officers were trained under the U.S.
program. But with Moeller’s appointment Washington no longer has an official
empowered to coordinate the entire Israel-PA security effort.

“This modification is a mistake,” the report said. “Security issues
represent a critical bridge to a political solution, and need the dedicated
attention of an American ‘constant gardener’ who tends to the concerns of
both parties — at least until other approaches can yield progress.”

  Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, Lt. Gen. Michael Moeller, report by Steven White and P.J. Dermer, Report: Obama appointee weakened U.S. security mission in West Bank, U.S. State Department