Quietly, State Dept. Turns Over American Islands to Russia, Others In recent years several U.S. islands have been ceded to Russia and other countries, without congressional approval or public debate. These islands, many uninhabited, are significant because they hold potential mineral, gas, oil and fishing rights – not to mention potential strategic military value. So where exactly are these disputed islands? The Arctic islands, which lie west of Alaska and north of Siberia, include the islands of Wrangell, Herald, Bennett, Jeannette and Henrietta. The islands in the Bering Sea make up the westernmost point in Alaska’s Aleutian chain and include...