The territory of the United States consists of:
1. the 50 states of the Union
2. the District of Columbia
3. one Incorporated Territory: Palmyra
American law is fully applicable to these three. In addition, the USA possesses
several other places:
1. Puerto Rico
2. Guam
3. US Virgin Islands
4. American Samoa
5. Wake
6. Midway
7. Baker
8. Howland
9. Jarvis
10. Johnston
11. Kingman
12. Navassa
13. Northern Marianas
Various of these are styled unincorporated territories (both organized and
unorganized), commonwealths, or possessions. They have a variety of legal
statuses, some highly individualized. See
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BoundaryPoint/message/14346
for a discussion of some of the complexities.
Finally, there are three places that are styled "freely associated states."
These are former holdings of the German empire that became Japanese mandates at
the end of WWI and US trusteeships at the end of WWII. They were granted their
current status in recent decades. (The Northern Marianas share a similar
history, but they did not opt for sovereign status.) These three are
theoretically sovereign and make their own laws, but the USA is responsible for
their defense, provides them with post offices, and gives them much of their
money:
1. Republic of the Marshall Islands
2. Federated States of Micronesia
3. Republic of Palau
There are no remaining islands in dispute between the USA and other
nations--only some disputed wet boundaries between US lands and other nations.
None of the US military, naval, or air bases in other countries (including
Guantanamo in Cuba and those in the "freely associated states") are sovereign US
territory. Such US bases are sovereign territories of the host governments, let
out to US use under various kinds of lease agreements. Typically, the US has
jurisdiction over its people within these bases under the terms of the
agreements.
A lease agreement for Guantanamo in Cuba dates from 1903, and a 1934 treaty gave
the US a lease until we choose to abandon it. Every July, the US government
sends Cuba a check for the annual lease payment. Since the communist dictator
Fidel Castro seized power there in 1959, he has chosen to cash only one of the
checks. He would prefer to have the Americans out, but that's not likely to
happen. The money from the uncashed checks will be available to whatever
government Cuba has after Castro is gone.
Lowell G. McManus
Leesville, Louisiana, USA
----- Original Message -----
From: "fabio" <fabiov@...>
To: <BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 11:16 PM
Subject: Re: [BoundaryPoint] U.S. External Territories list
>
> Hello,
> it is a very nice thread this one. I would like to know which are ALL the
> External Territories of USA, I know only few far islands in Pacific Ocean
> and few others from the CIA facts book.. But in Morocco I saw personally a
> large U.S. military airport where it was forbidden to enter, but is it
> a. U.S. Territory or not?
> There is anybody who has a complete list of these External USA territories?
> Thanks
> Fabio V.