So much of the Palestinian state-building project, or at least those parts of it that actually exist, are shot through with ready-made excuses. The latest news from this front is a long report from the Washington Post’s new Jerusalem correspondent, Griff Witte, about the training difficulties of the newest batch of Palestinian Presidential Guardsmen in Jordan. Witte is all but unequivocal about the nature of the problems: Israel hasn’t delivered first aid kits, flashlights, and uniforms to the PA.

But deep down in the piece, we read of other problems, problems readers might be forgiven for interpreting as having little to do with a dearth of canteens and radios:

One called the final field exercise for the Presidential Guard “a complete fiasco” that included the “‘killing’ of civilians and blue-on-blue engagements.” The term “blue on blue” refers to members of security forces accidentally or intentionally firing on each other rather than their targets. . . .

The American, who talked on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, also spoke of the training supervisors putting on what he called “a dog-and-pony show” when U.S. congressional delegations or other visitors came to the site.

All this is part of an $86 million U.S. appropriation for the creation of a competent, non-terrorist Palestinian security force. We’re closing in on two decades of failed attempts to create such an entity. As we approach the 60th anniversary of Israel’s creation, it’s interesting to think about the pre-state Jewish security forces and their comparatively paralyzing lack of equipment and training, and the absence of millions of dollars in foreign aid for their preparation. The Jewish security forces were possessed of the one irreplaceable thing that can never be purchased by a foreign power or inculcated during training in Jordan: they were adherents to a genuine nationalist movement.