ROBERT FISK WEIGHS IN ON THE KENYA BOMBING — and, surprise, it’s Israel’s fault! And America’s.

William Sjostrom responds to Fisk’s tired screed.

Here’s my favorite out-of-touch-with-reality segment:

The Afghanistan-trained men of Mr bin Laden’s legion do not spring from the squalor of Gaza or the occupied masses of the West Bank. They are ruthless, highly motivated, intelligent – just for once, William Safire was right when he called them “vicious warriors” – and they may be more than a match for Israel’s third-rate intelligence men. Israel’s rabble of an army can kill child stone-throwers with ease. Al-Qa’ida is a quite different opponent.

Israel, you see, may be capable of defeating all the Arab armies at once, but it’s no match for the forces of Al Qaeda — trained in the harsh crucible of Afghanistan, where its troops withstood American assaults for days at a time!

In truth, the “strength” of Al Qaeda is like the “strength” of Ted Bundy. It’s not that they’re especially formidable, they’re just willing to do things that other people aren’t, which means that they can take advantage of surprise. But that only works for a while, and it doesn’t mean that they’re especially tough when it comes to the clutch.

What’s pathetic is just how obvious it is that Fisk (1) has lost touch with reality; and (2) is basically rooting for the other side.

UPDATE: Bill Herbert points out this fawning story on bin Laden by Fisk, from way back. Meanwhile Dan Hartun emails that Fisk is repeating himself.