Is the Obama administration poised to give away--to Russia--a portion of Alaska?

Here is a bit from WorldNetDaily, from about two months ago:

"Part of Obama's apparent war against U.S. energy independence includes a foreign-aid program that directly threatens my state's sovereign territory. Obama's State Department is giving away seven strategic, resource-laden Alaskan islands to the Russians. Yes, to the Putin regime in the Kremlin.

"The seven endangered islands in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea include one the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. The Russians are also to get the tens of thousands of square miles of oil-rich seabeds surrounding the islands. The Department of Interior estimates billions of barrels of oil are at stake.

"The State Department has undertaken the giveaway in the guise of a maritime boundary agreement between Alaska and Siberia. Astoundingly, our federal government itself drew the line to put these seven Alaskan islands on the Russian side. But as an executive agreement, it could be reversed with the stroke of a pen by President Obama or Secretary Clinton.

"The agreement was negotiated in total secrecy. The state of Alaska was not allowed to participate in the negotiations, nor was the public given any opportunity for comment. This is despite the fact the Alaska Legislature has passed resolutions of opposition – but the State Department doesn’t seem to care."

Here is the link: Obama’s giveaway: Oil-rich islands to Russia

World Net Daily.

The rest of the story:
http://www.factcheck.org/2012/03/ala...land-giveaway/

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Hope it's Sarah's part. sorry couldn't resist.

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"You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life."

Really? A WND article? I thought you were more savvy. Please say this is an attempt at a joke.

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The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so.

-- Hitler, April 11 1942

Let us look at the islands Obama is allegedly giving away.

The first one on the article's list is Wrangel Island.

Wrangel Island - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The next one on the list is Bennett Island.

Bennett Island - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The third is Jeannette Island.

Jeannette Island - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The fourth is Henrietta Island.

Henrietta Island - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Next up the De Long Islands.

De Long Islands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Next Copper Island, which appears to be called Medny Island.

Medny Island - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Next up, Sea Lion Rock.

Sea Lion Rock - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As for Sea Otter Rocks.

Sea Otter Rocks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So, as you can see, there is zero truth to any of these claims Obama is giving away Alaskan territory. I just debunked every one of the islands the article claims Obama is giving away and I did not even have to shoot the messenger.

Facts always win.

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Yes, I have seen this rationalization from Factcheck.org previously.

The mere fact that these islands "lie far closer to the coast of Siberia than to Alaska" (as noted in its response) is hardly dispositive.

In any case, you appear to have a rather high regard for Factcheck.org.

I have...well, not so much...

Here is a bit from another article, on the subject:

"You have to go back to 1990, when the unconstitutional groundwork for the natural resource giveaway was first hatched. ...

"On June 1, 1990, Secretary of State James Baker signed a secret executive agreement with Eduard Shevardnadze, the former U.S.S.R. foreign minister. It specified that even though the treaty had not been ratified, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. agreed to abide by the terms of the treaty beginning June 15, 1990. The Senate ratified the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Maritime Boundary Treaty in 1991, which was then signed by President George Bush.

"The Alaska House & Senate were never consulted on the land grab and violation of states rights, so they teamed with then Governor, Walter J. Hickel to lobby President Bill Clinton to undo the treaty but were not successful."

Can we get a link to this article? I'd like to see what type of tinfoil hat individuals we're going to be debunking now.

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The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so.

-- Hitler, April 11 1942

You dismiss Factcheck.org but take WordNetDaily (or whatever that site was) as gospel?

Why, because it tells you what you want to hear and paints Obama in a negative light?

That makes sense.

Forget about where they lie. How about the fact all of the islands mentioned in the article belong to Russia?

See post #5. Unless Wikipedia is now all of a sudden not credible.

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Comet, I'm afraid pjohns' account might have been hijacked... Something. This isn't his normal game.

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The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so.

-- Hitler, April 11 1942