According to RT,

Syrian opposition groups operate with complete impunity inside Turkey – which is a NATO member – with a green light from the Turkish government. Without arms and sponsorship from outside Syria, the opposition would never dare to take up arms against the Syrian army, Rozoff concludes.

Dave Weigel is a history buff:

[Newt Gingrich's] last full-on grapple with Romney came when the former governor attacked him, in a sort of more-in-sorrow-than-anger way, for saying that the Palestinians were an “invented people.” That, said Romney, was complicating things for Israelis.

“The Israelis are getting rocketed every day,” snorted Gingrich. “We’re not making life more difficult. The Obama administration is making life more difficult.” Plus, he was right on the facts. “Palestinian did not become a common term until after 1977.” That’s the sort of knowledge-bomb that Republicans dream of dropping on Obama—they feel like this is right, but here’s a candidate who can say so.

I suppose we could argue over the definition of “common term.” I did a very fast, very lazy search for “Palestinian” on EBSCOhost. Five seconds’ work turned up references to Palestinians — in the Oxford English Dictionary sense of “an Arab born or living in the area of the former mandated territory of Palestine; a descendant of such an Arab” — going back to 1922.

That earliest reference was in The Nation, which used the term fairly often in the Twenties. But maybe The Nation lacks the common touch. What about Time magazine? Is that common enough for Newt and Dave? The magazine recommended by four out of five dentists began using “Palestinian” in the relevant sense in 1951. For a while, Time used it only before “Arab,” if that makes any difference, but as early as November 1957 the Arab part seemed to be understood:

At one time Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser commended himself to the world as a strongman of reason, more concerned to put his impoverished country on its feet than to stir trouble in the Middle East. But Nasser has increasingly resorted to the incendiary propaganda of the totalitarian dictator, has persistently used his radio Voice of the Arabs to incite the Palestinian refugees in Jordan, who brood in bitter idleness over their lost lands across the border in Israel.

By November 1960, Time considered “Palestinian” a noun:

Last week Pakistan’s Moslem President Mohammed Ayub Khan arrived in Cairo and throwing away a diplomatically phrased set speech, delivered the sharpest criticisms of Moslems by a Moslem heard in many a year.

Ayub spoke plainly on his view of the long-festering problem of refugees along the Israeli border, where more than a million Palestinians—those who fled or were ejected by Israel, and the children born to them since—still inhabit squalid detention camps in Jordan, Syria and the Gaza Strip.

In fairness, I have yet to discover the first use of “Palestinian” in Highlights or the works of Michael Bay, so you can keep believing Newt Gingrich if you like.

Weigel link via Daniel Larison.

UPDATE: Dave Weigel, to his credit, has revised the article in question.

Behind the scenes — later paragraphs — we discover that the Pentagon wanted to keep at least 3,000 to 5,000 troops on Iraqi soil. The true number was significantly larger. But they’re all leaving. Why?

It was almost certainly the S.O.F.A., the acronym for "Status Of Forces Agreement."

Obama’s announcement signals that US officials have been unable to negotiate with Iraq’s leaders a renewal of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) governing the stationing and mission of American troops on Iraqi soil. Pentagon officials in particular, backed by a number of congressional leaders, had called for leaving a force of between 3,000 and 5,000 in Iraq for an extended period. –Iraq withdrawal: With US troops set to exit, 9-year war draws to close – CSMonitor.com

A key provision of any SOFA is exempting occupying soldiers from the laws of the country being occupied. It was this provision that Iraqi negotiators refused to renew. Thus, for example, once the old SOFA expired, U.S. soldiers who killed an Iraqi could be tried for murder under Iraqi law.

The Iraqis, it seems, found the back door to get rid of occupying U.S. troops.

This would likely work in other countries as well.

But that still leaves the drones.

Reporters Lara Jakes and Rebecca Santana however managed to suck the joy from the long awaited announcement by possibly the most tasteless paragraph to come over the wire since Clinton era intern shenanigans.

The decision ends months of hand-wringing by U.S. officials over whether to stick to a Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline that was set in 2008 or negotiate a new security agreement to ensure that gains made and more than 4,400 American military lives lost since March 2003 do not go to waste. [Emphasis mine.]

Yes, that’s right. The American youth sacrificed for the inhumane, illegal and unconstitutional occupation of Iraq are mere veggie fried rice left overs that shan’t go to waste in the mighty victory over the Iraqi people.

Jakes and Santana note that, “Iraqis are still angry over incidents such as the Abu Ghraib prison scandal or Haditha, when U.S. troops killed Iraqi civilians in Anbar province, and want American troops subject to Iraqi law.”

One couldn’t imagine why.

Vlahos is a contributing editor for The American Conservative magazine, a Washington correspondent for the DC-based homeland security magazine, Homeland Security Today, a long-time political writer for FOXNews.com, and weekly columnist for Antiwar.com.

Antiwar.com’s Week in Review | September 30, 2011

Watch Justin Raimondo talk with Judge Andrew Napolitano about Obama’s secret wars and the FBI investigation of Antiwar.com at the Antiwar.com blog. Don’t miss Scott Horton interview Glenn Greenwald for Antiwar Radio live tonight 6:30pm PT/9:30pm PT at Pacifica’s KPFK 90.7FM Los Angeles.

IN THIS ISSUE

• The Losing Fight in Afghanistan
• Tensions With Pakistan
• Unrest in Client State Iraq
• Ganging Up on Palestine
• Troops in Libya, Rebels Struggle
• What’s New at the Blog?
• Columns
• Antiwar Radio
• Events

Soaring Violence in Afghanistan

The United Nations reported this week that violence is soaring in Afghanistan, with month-to-month comparisons in the number of attacks showing a 39-percent increase in violence since last year. The increase is very large, especially considering that 2010 also broke records in terms of violence. The report also raised doubts about the supposed withdrawal date of 2014.

The Pentagon announced an increase of 800 American military trainers in Afghanistan while also admitting that not a single unit of the approximately 180 Afghan National Army battalions can operate without U.S. help. Battles between occupation forces, Afghan government forces, and insurgents raged across the country on Tuesday, killing at least 54 people. Meanwhile, cross-border attacks with the Pakistani army occurred Wednesday, destroying at least six homes and displacing over 100 residents.

Pointing Fingers at Pakistan

Pentagon officials anonymously came out against Mullen’s accusations last week of a Pakistan-Haqqani alliance, leading some to believe that his claims were purposely exaggerated in order to pressure Pakistan to crack down on the tribal region. The allegations led to a chorus of hawks in Congress hinting at military action against Pakistan, a move the Pakistani prime minister sternly warned against. Rising tensions with the U.S. may be leading Pakistan to look for other powerful allies, such as China.

Unrest in Client State Iraq

Violence surged in Iraq as well this week with insurgents attacking a government building in Karbala, which killed 22 and wounded 106 others. Gunmen also murdered the family of a member of the U.S.-supported Iraqi militia Sahwa in an apparent assassination attempt. Still, the extension of the U.S. presence in Iraq went uninterrupted, as the Maliki government estimated that a final deal for U.S. troops to remain past the December deadline for withdrawal will be reached next month. In addition, the Maliki government agreed to buy 18 F-16 warplanes from the U.S. in a $3 billion deal.

Punishing Palestine for UN Bid

After Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas officially submitted his request for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations, he reiterated his promise not to return to the failed peace process negotiations until Israel freezes settlement construction.

In response to the PA bid at the U.N., hard-line Israeli leaders in the Knesset urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to punish Palestinians by increasing settlement construction and laying plans to annex the West Bank. Not long after, the Israeli government responded by announcing the approval of 1,100 new housing units in Gilo, which was captured in the 1967 war.

Antiwar Radio’s very own Scott Horton was on Russia Today to discuss President Obama’s 2009 sale of "buster bombs" to Israel.

Troops in Libya, Rebels Struggle

The White House announced this week that additional ground forces would be deployed into Libya to "secure conventional arms storage sites." Meanwhile, thousands were fleeing the city of Sirte as the NATO-rebel offensive there continued, further devastating an already suffering area. Concerns are still widespread about the rebels’ ability to form a government, and pro-Gadhafi loyalists continue to resist their rule.

Assorted News From the Empire

• Mass protests, insurgent attacks, and tribal battles against Yemeni security forces continued in President Saleh’s first week back, and Yemenis doubt his support for new elections.
• U.S. drones attacked at least three sites in the southern Somali port city of Kismayo, although the number of deaths could not be determined.
• Dozens of Bahraini Shi’ites were jailed after a boycott of the by-elections. Meanwhile, harsh prison sentences were issued to medical professionals for treating protesters injured by government repression.
• The U.S. will provide Turkey with Predator drones for use against Kurdish separatists in the southeast, a move publicly condemned by an Iraqi MP.
• The head of the Iranian navy, Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, claimed that Iranian navy vessels would soon be sent close to the Atlantic coast in response to years of provocation by the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf.

What’s New at the Blog?

Matt Barganier blogged about recurring themes in Bush and Obama missile defense policy, the perversity of a media continuously distracted from the depravity within the military, and Ron Paul’s outsider views on the drug war. Jeremy Sapienza highlighted some dirty politics. Kelley B. Vlahos wrote about former Foreign Service officer Peter Van Buren being fired from the government for linking to WikiLeaks cables on his personal blog. Brian Beyer covered U.S. intervention in Somalia. John Glaser blogged about America’s bullying, authoritarian foreign policy, the still failing humanitarian justification for Libya, U.S. policy that is preventing Egyptian democracy, the FBI’s rejection of the presumption of innocence, and America’s weapons welfare program of arms trading.

Columns

Justin Raimondo wrote on the U.S. failure in Libya and American belligerence toward Pakistan. Philip Giraldi lamented Obama’s illegal – and expanded – drone war. Ivan Eland explained the American license to kill, from Troy Davis to Anwar al-Awlaki. Kelley B. Vlahos wrote on the Project on Government Oversight and featured an interview with Executive Director Danielle Brian.

Antiwar Radio

Scott Horton interviewed Jacob Hornberger on the José Padilla case and the loss of constitutional protections. Eric Margolis was on to discuss U.S. accusations about Pakistan’s terrorism ties. The Other Scott Horton talked about the travails of Obama’s counterterrorism policies. Gareth Porter explained how the U.S. likes to blame Pakistan every time the Afghan war takes a turn for the worse. M.J. Rosenberg was interviewed about the mainstreaming of the Israel lobby and the prospects for a Palestinian state. Grant F. Smith also discussed AIPAC. Will Grigg explained the unsustainability of America’s economic policies and the dollar. And Lew Rockwell was on to talk about the federal police state and the twisted state of the judicial system.

Events

Angela Keaton will discuss ComeHomeAmerica.us and the new peace movement in a breakout event at this year’s Libertopia in San Diego, Oct. 21-23. Libertopia is an annual festival of peace, freedom, music, community, and ideas that will change the world. Keaton will give a 30-minute speech and a 15-minute Q&A at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21.

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To kick off the contest, James Cox of Peace, Freedom and Prosperity created and narrated AntiWar: 10 Years In The Middle East.

All jokes aside, I’m happy for Lake, who seems to have found his perfect match in Newsweek boss Tina Brown. Just imagine what Lake will be able to do with her crack Photoshop staff! I’m already picturing the “Saddam at 75″ cover story, with Hussein and bin Laden wearing matching Code Pink T-shirts.