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The Crucial Distinction between Acquiring Territory Through Aggression and Acquiring It Through Lawful Self-Defense

(Boston Globe) Jeff Jacoby - In recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, President Trump upheld the oft-ignored but crucial distinction between acquiring territory through aggression and acquiring it through lawful self-defense. If Israel had seized the Golan Heights as an act of aggression, it would arguably have no right to keep the land. But in 1967, Israel was the target. It seized the Golan in a defensive war against an enemy explicitly bent on its annihilation. Syria forfeited its sovereign right to the territory when it was defeated by its intended victim. To claim otherwise is to claim that a belligerent aggressor should lose nothing for waging an unlawful war. That would be folly. By endorsing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, the U.S. is sending a message of deterrence to would-be warmongers. It's a message that should have been sent years ago.
2019-03-27 00:00:00
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