Trump has tweeted that the U.S., against all world opinion, is going to declare the Golan Heights Israeli property. In doing so he is trying to make legitimate Israel’s seizure of this territory by conquest in 1967. This is virtually to say that if you steal something and hang on to it long enough it must be yours. 

In our case, the United States has held on to territories stolen from the indigenous peoples of North America and lands seized from the state of  Mexico. We’ve shown greater restraint with more recent conquests. On Cuba we have only “leased” the Guantanamo Naval Base to serve as part of the federal penitentiary system. We have not yet annexed Puerto Rico because we are not sure that we want it. We have given the Panama Canal Zone back to the locals because we no longer needed it.

 This fiat of Trump’s gives comfort to our fellow thieves, Israel and Russia. So I predict we will see new and greater landgrabs by Israel and the annexation of the Baltic states by Putin. We are in no position to object.