Now More Than Ever: 'Back Channel' Diplomacy!

Review by Bill Doughty

It turns out bagging groceries in a military commissary is a good step in preparing for a career in diplomacy.

Career Ambassador William J. Burns

Such was the beginning of a life of service for military brat William J. Burns, who became a diplomat serving before, during and after 9/11. He held senior U.S. State Department leadership positions during the killing of Osama bin Laden, the rise of Putin, the Arab Spring, growth of China, and the challenges of Iran's nuclear threats.

Burns shows how life as a military dependent can widen the aperture – providing an individual with an understanding of the world and an appreciation of human rights. He recounts people, events and consequences in "The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Call for Its Renewal" by William J. Burns (Penguin Random House, 2019).

"Public service was already in my blood. I grew up as an Army brat, the product of an itinerant military childhood that took my family from one end of the United States to the other, with a dozen moves and three high schools by the time I was seventeen," Burns writes.

His father, who served in Vietnam and became a two-star general in the Army, told him, "Nothing can make you prouder than serving your country with honor." Frequent moves at an early age and traveling overseas also helped a young Burns gain insights about his country.

Burns became a diplomat in President Ronald Reagan's and George Shultz's State Department. He served under both Presidents Bush and with Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. He held key positions in the Middle East, as Ambassador to Russia and as a State Department leader in Washington D.C., retiring in 2014 as Deputy Secretary of State and Career Ambassador. (Today he is president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.)

This book is a must-read for diplomats – including diplomat-sailors/soldiers – who seek to understand "great power rivalry," the Iran nuclear deal, challenges in Asia and eastern Europe, the "frustration seething beneath so many authoritarian Arab societies" and why the U.S.-led war in Iraq was such a mistake.

Burns, who worked directly for Gen. Colin Powell, is clear in his accounting:

"The Iraq invasion was the original sin. It was born of hubris, as well as failures of imagination and process. For neoconservative proponents, it was the key tool in the disruption of the Middle East – the heady, irresponsible, and historically unmoored notion that shaking things up violently would produce better outcomes. In a region where unintended consequences were rarely uplifting, the toppling of Saddam set off a chain reaction of troubles. It laid bare the fragilities and dysfunctions of Iraq as well as the wider Arab state system – proving that Americans could be just as arrogant and haphazard in their impact on Middle East maps as the original British and French mapmakers."

He asks, "What if we had tried to harness the massive outpouring of international goodwill and shared concern for the terrible attacks of September 11 in a different – more constructive – direction?"

"The eighteen months between 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq were one of those hinge points in history, whose contours are easier to see today than they were at that uncertain and emotional time. If we had avoided the debacle in Iraq, and instead projected American power and purpose more wisely, it seems obvious today that American interests and values would have been better served. That would have required a real attempt at coercive diplomacy in Iraq – not the one we employed, which was long on coercion and short on diplomacy. That would also have required patience in our diplomacy and a readiness to share in its design and execution. Instead, we opted for the more immediate satisfactions of unilateral impulses and blunt force, and kept the sharing part to a minimum. It was beyond our power and imagination to remake the Middle East, with our without the overthrow of Saddam, but we could certainly make an already disordered region worse and further erode our leadership and influence. And we did."

Will we do the same in Iran?

Yeoman 2nd Class DeMario Smith places flowers at the Stark Memorial plaque during the guided-missile frigate USS Stark (FFG 31) remembrance ceremony at the Naval Station Mayport. On May 17, 1987, while on a routine patrol in the Persian Gulf, USS Stark was struck by two Iraqi missiles killing 37 Sailors. Despite the damage inflicted, the efforts of the Stark's crew saved the ship. Stark was later decommissioned in 1999. (Photo by MC2 Damian Berg)

Burns recounts the following tragedies while he was in the State Department: the bombing of U.S. Marine Barracks in Lebanon that killed 241 Marines; the Arms for Hostages debacle with Iran; Iraq's attack on USS Stark (FFG-31) that killed 37 Sailors; the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) mine incident that wounded ten Sailors, the attack on the American embassy Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans including Ambassador Chris Stevens; and Russian ongoing meddling in other countries' affairs.

"Putin had a remarkable capacity for storing up grievances and slights ... Putin was an apostle of payback," Burns writes. Putin is described as "cocky, cranky, aggrieved and insecure." He is the "anti-Yeltsin, half a generation younger, sober, ruthlessly competent, hardworking and hard-faced."

Adm. John Poindexter (Photo from NHHC)

Burns offers terse yet deep descriptions of individuals, especially colleagues:

• Donald Rumsfeld – "Supremely confident but unfettered by much knowledge of the region (Middle East)."
• George Shultz – "Impressive integrity and intellect ... Shultz was a firm believer in the importance of 'tending the garden' in diplomacy."
• John Whitehead – (who served in the U.S. Navy during WWII and participated in the D-Day Invasion) "Self-assured and thoroughly decent."
• Adm. John Poindexter – "Became Reagan's fourth NSC chief in four years at the end of 1985. A decent man with a nuclear engineer's exacting intellect, Poindexter was badly miscast in the role."
• Lawrence Eagleburger – "A rumpled, blunt-spoken, chain-smoking foreign service veteran, sometimes bursting at the seams of his disproportionally sized pinstriped suits."
• Richard Holbrooke – "Was a brilliant diplomat, whose talents and drive were matched only by his showmanship and sense of self."
• Adm. Bill McRaven – "It was impossible not to feel his confidence."

Burns was in the Situation Room Sunday, May 1, 2011, along with his boss, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, after President Obama approved the raid by McRaven's SEALs on bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

"At 2:30 p.m., we watched on a small video map as two Black Hawk helicopters took off for Abbottabad from Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. The next couple hours seemed like an eternity, and the raid itself began with gut-wrenching drama, when one of the two helicopters made a hard landing in the courtyard of the compound. The SEALs were unhurt, but they had to destroy the helicopter and adapt quickly. McRaven narrated the whole operation with incredible calm from a command post in Afghanistan. As the president and his senior aides sat in rapt attention, there wasn't a hint of second-guessing or backseat commentary. Then McRaven's voice came on the line to confirm 'E-KIA' – the enemy had been killed in action. Bin Laden was dead. Never have I been prouder of the U.S. military, or of a president who had so coolly taken such a big risk. For a diplomat accustomed to long slogs and victories at the margins, this was an incredible moment."

In the Situation Room May 1, 2011 as President Obama and his National Security team observe the SEAL raid on bin Laden's compound. (Pete Souza, WH)

Burns thinks military strikes against Syria should have been ordered after President Bashar Assad deployed chemical weapons in his country's civil war. But President Obama insisted on getting congressional authorization. "Few Republicans wanted to be helpful to Obama, and many Democrats were uneasy, afflicted by 2003 Iraq War déjà vu."

"Hindsight neither diminishes the continuing pain and cost of Syria's civil war," Burns writes, "nor illuminates any easy choices for policymakers."

Burns presents the incredibly nuanced strategies and tactics involved in nuclear arms talks, including especially with Iran. He also describes the Gordian knot of Syria, Israel, Egypt and, to a lesser degree in this book, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states.

In 2013 General Jim Mattis famously advised Congress, "If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition." Burns notes, "The savaging of American diplomacy as the Trump administration consolidated its grip was not the first such assault in our history, but it was in many ways the worst."

Seated: Former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger, James Baker, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry and others participate in the dedication of the George Marshall Conference Center at the Harry S. Truman Building, Sept. 3, 2014. (Photo by Ken Richards, DOS, DVIDS)

Still, Burns is optimistic about America's advantages going forward, with an assessment that might make Mahan, Kaplan and Friedman smile:

"Our assets are substantial. We still spend more every year on defense than the next seven countries combined. Our economy, despite risks of overheating and persistent inequalities, remains the biggest, most adaptable, and most innovative in the world. Energy, once a vulnerability, now offers considerable advantages, with technology unlocking vast natural gas resources, and advances in clean and renewable energy accelerating. Demography is another strength. Compared to our peer competitors, our population is younger and more mobile, and if we could stop doing so much practical and moral damage to ourselves on immigration issues we could lock in that strategic edge for generations. Geography sets us apart, with our two liquid assets – the Pacific and Atlantic oceans – insulating us to some extent from the kinds of security threats that expose other major powers. Diplomacy ought to be another advantage. We have more allies and potential partners than any of our peers or rivals, with greater capacity for coalition-building and problem-solving."

While Burns acknowledges the current problems and challenges of American diplomacy, and recommends a return to core values of judgment, balance and discipline. He recommends adopting U.S. military employment of "systematic case studies and after-action reports." And he calls for making a connection with the American public about the importance and relevance of global diplomacy to citizens' daily lives.

At a fundamental – and relatable – level, diplomacy can prevent war. Burns shows in this book how a study of history and diplomacy can promote cooperation between increasingly connected nations, ensuring a safer and more prosperous world – for everyone, from commissary baggers to presidents.

How Navy & Marines Reached the Moon 50 Years Ago

Glenn and Armstrong, survival training in Panama, 1963. NASA

Review by Bill Doughty

July 20, 1969: A Sailor (Neil Armstrong) became the first human to step on the moon. 

Earlier in the decade, another Sailor (Alan Shepard) was the first American to travel in space, and a Marine (John Glenn) was the first American to orbit Earth.

A United States president and vice president (both Navy veterans) along with a NASA administrator (a former Marine) provided key leadership so Americans could plant the American flag in the Sea of Tranquility fifty years ago this month.

That flag – once red, white and blue – is now bleached white by UV radiation, according to Douglas Brinkley in "American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race" (HarperCollins, 2019).

From War/Destruction to Peace/Discovery

Writing with a journalist/historian's touch, Brinkley shows how the influence of World War II – and the resultant Cold War – brought about the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was a race that the Soviets proved to dominate – hare to tortoise – in the early 1960s.

"Space was America's Cold War Manifest Destiny," Brinkley writes, "and the Mercury astronauts wore its rough-and-ready trailblazers, following in the footsteps of Kennedy's own World War II Generation and almost two centuries of American adventurers before."

America's moonshot would not have happened in 1969 without JFK's drive.

John F. Kennedy, who had some health issues even as a young man, was at first rejected from service, but he used his father's influence to help him get into the Navy. 

"When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 – 'a date that will live in infamy,' as President Roosevelt termed it – Jack and Joe Kennedy were already in uniform and ready for combat duty. They would never have to scrub off the taint of using their father's influence to avoid military service. Four days after Pearl Harbor, Nazi Germany and the Axis partners declared war on the United States. 'Industrial Mobilization' became an urgent catchphrase across the nation. Military bases were built on empty land. Factories were adapted to switch from manufacturing consumer goods to producing war matériel. Between 1940 and 1943, enlistment in the U.S. 
Armed Forces expanded from fewer than five hundred thousand to more than nine million. Mobilization efforts swelled in every direction, from far-flung Honolulu to the shipyards of Norfolk."

A young JFK.

JFK showed his profile in courage in the War in the Pacific, and was profoundly affected when his big brother, Joseph Jr., was killed on a combat mission. Joe's plane exploded in mid-air in what proved to be an unsuccessful bombing mission against a Nazi missile base.

Brinkley posits that Hitler's missile program laid the foundation for NASA's success, particularly with the help of former Nazi scientist Wernher von Braun. Kennedy was motivated and propelled by a combination of influences, including his father's drive, his brother's death, and a vision of the future for America and the world.

JFK, followed by LBJ and assisted by NASA administrator James Webb, a Marine major in WWII, presented the vision, the mission and the will to reach the Moon, despite other challenges and sea changes in the 60s – including the Cuban Missile Crisis, civil rights movement and Vietnam.

JFK's visionary leadership, combined with the hard work and creative innovation of an elite civilian-military team, the United States discovered a world of innovation in space, including communication, mapping and global positioning satellites; commercial air transport; and the microchip.

Navy veterans/leaders kept space closed to militarization and turned away from nuclear atmospheric testing and proposals to put nuclear weapons in space.

In Kennedy's challenge to go to the Moon, he said – with speechwriter Ted Sorensen's help in balancing optimism with humility – "we meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and unforgettable ignorance. The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds."

Naval Propulsion Into Space

While the sea services were joined by the Army and Air Force and led by civilians in developing the space program, Brinkley reveals various naval ties – Navy and Marine Corps connections – to putting Americans into space:

CNO Adm. Arleigh Burke joins JFK and LBJ to observe the successful mission by Alan Shepard.

• Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal mentored Navy veteran-turned-politician JFK on "post-war national security imperatives," preparing him for his next roles in public service.
• On May 5, 1961 Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Arleigh Burke was with JFK and LBJ to observe news coverage Alan Shepard's successful flight into space.
• NASA Administrator James Webb was a major in the Marine Corps in WWII, tasked with running the U.S. radar system for the planned invasion of Japan, ultimately unnecessary after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Imperial Japan's surrender.
• The Naval Research Laboratory announced Sputnik's successful orbit of the Earth on Oct. 4, 1957.
• The Navy led development of the Vanguard satellite, which experienced fits and starts (though former Nazi Wernher von Braun, supported by Senator Barry Goldwater, favored the Army's satellite hardware and development – as well as militarization of space).
• Among the hundreds of U.S. Navy ships involved in the recovery of astronauts and development of the space program were USS Lake Champlain (CV-39), USS Decatur (DD-936), USS Intrepid (CV-11), USS Kearsarge (LHA-3), USS Noa (DD-841) and USS Randolph (CV-15). Navy helos, divers, tracking and personnel were also critical to the success of the program. (Check out the extensive list of recovery ships on NASA's history site.)
• Lt. Cmdr. Victor Prather, a Navy flight surgeon, lost his life testing the full-pressure Mark IV space suit. Other military veterans as well as civilians paid the ultimate price over the years as the space program developed.
• Shepard was a  Navy test pilot and "military aviation superstar" who had served aboard USS Cogswell (DD-651) during WWII and as a squadron operations officer aboard USS Orinsky (CV-34) during the Korean War. He was a leader among astronauts and became the oldest man to walk on the moon, at the age of 47.
• Naval aviator Neil Armstrong "had become one of the most respected jet pilots of the Korean War generation, part of an 'ace club' that also included John Glenn and Wally Schirra."
• Marine John Glenn distinguished himself in World War II and the Korean War. He became a close friend of both President Kennedy and younger brother Robert F. Kennedy. Glenn represented all astronauts at JFK's funeral. After leaving NASA he entered further public service, running for the United States Senate. Jacqueline Kennedy called on Glenn and asked him to comfort her children Caroline and John Jr.  after JFK was killed. Glenn would do the same for RFK's children in 1968 after Bobby Kennedy was murdered.
• Astronaut Scott Carpenter, a Navy test pilot who followed John Glenn into space, had served in the Korean War, flying "numerous reconnaissance and antisubmarine missions along both the Siberian and Chinese coasts."
• Astronaut Wally Schirra served aboard Navy cruiser USS Alaska (CB-1) during WWII. After the war he married the stepdaughter of Adm. James L. Holloway, Jr. (father of a future CNO).
• A big supporter of the Navy in Congress – U.S. Senator John C. Stennis (D-Mississippi) is quoted: "Whoever controls space controls the world." is the namesake for the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74).
• SECNAV Fred North, along with LBJ and SECDEF Robert McNamara, accompanied President Kennedy for a visit to Houston, Sept. 11-12, 1962.
• Although patriarchy and prejudice prevented qualified women (along with non-Christians and non-whites) from becoming astronauts in the early 60s, the Naval School of Aviation Medicine began testing women – seasoned pilots. Dr. William "Randy" Lovelace II, an aeromedical pioneer, "believed that women were better equipped psychologically for NASA space travel because they were, on average, shorter and smaller than men, needed less food and oxygen, and had better blood circulation and fewer cardiac problems." Unfortunately, when NASA and Congress learned about the initiative, the program was shut down, postponing and delaying fulfillment of the promise of equality.

President Kennedy visits Cape Canaveral Nov. 16, 1963.

Cape Kennedy, Vindications, Revelations

Shortly before JFK was killed in Dallas, Texas, he visited Cape Canaveral, Florida, Nov. 16, 1963. "The president's visit to Cape Canaveral had reinforced his faith in exactly what a gargantuan, well-funded, centralized government project could achieve in breakneck time."

Navy, led by USS Wasp (CV-18), recovers Gemini 9 capsule.

Within a week of Kennedy's assassination, LBJ proclaimed a new name for Cape Canaveral: Cape Kennedy.

Interestingly, Brinkley shows how Kennedy was wrong about his claim of a big missile gap with the Soviets, something he proclaimed in what would today be called "fake news." Kennedy made that claim in pointed attacks against President Eisenhower in the late 1950s.

In some ways Ike was vindicated by what Kennedy learned when he came into office (and what was then reported in the New York Times). Eisenhower had quietly kept pace in space in the 50s, deploying reconnaissance and missile-detection satellites.

"All JFK's taunts at Ike had been overdrawn. The fact were that when Eisenhower left the White House, the United States had one hundred sixty operational ICBMs to a paltry four R-7s in the Soviet arsenal. Kennedy now gladly accepted this reality. Later in 1961, Corona satellite intelligence indicated that Khrushchev, expectations aside, had only six ICBMs. Kennedy and Johnson's campaign swipes that Eisenhower and Nixon were the architects of a national security missile strategy of 'drift, delay, and dilution' had clearly been off base. Furthermore, America's three coastal launch sites (Cape Canaveral, Florida; Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; and Wallops Island, Virginia) were already operating around the clock to further spaceflight advancement. Each of these sites had technical facilities, a control center, and the most modern of launchpads. What Kennedy learned was that Eisenhower had actually done an able job of building up U.S. defenses. When Ike was inaugurated for his first term in 1953, the air force still used piston-driven bombers, and navy strategy focused on basing ships around the Pacific. By the time he handed the reins over to JFK, the United States had developed reconnaissance and communication satellite capabilities. And there were nuclear submarines – including the USS George Washington (SSBN-598) – deployed the very month Kennedy was elected and able to carry sixteen nuclear Polaris missiles. Five generations of rockets – starting with the early Vanguard, and then onward with ICBMs like Atlas and Titan – were born in the Eisenhower years. The army had teams designing heavy-launch Saturn rockets, while the air force, not to be outdone, had made headwind with its Space Launching System (SLS), experimenting with a myriad of launch configurations using solid-fuel boosters and hydrogen/oxygen upper states. The Strategic Air Command had more than fifteen hundred jet bombers capable of dropping hydrogen bombs on America's enemies."

Still, JFK was passionate about winning the Space Race for "global prestige" as he fought for peaceful exploration rather than exploitation – for discovery instead of dominance. Already in the 60s there were overtures of joint collaborative missions with the Soviets. But, "For Kennedy, much depended on the United States going to the moon, beating the Soviet Union, being first, winning the Cold War in the name of democracy and freedom, and planting the American Flag on the lunar surface."


Today, as we learned, that flag from 1969 is bleached white. But, rather than being a flag of surrender to the new frontier, perhaps it's a blank slate that could represent a renewable spirit of cooperation and collaboration, reflected in the words of a naval aviator: "one giant leap for mankind."

The American flag planted on the surface of the moon.

Bonus – The U.S. Navy recovers John Glenn:

McRaven on Navy, Character, War, Peace

Review by Bill Doughty

Admiral William H. McRaven showcases adventures as a Navy SEAL, discusses warrior ethos as a leader of warfighters, writes of "second chances," and even describes life as a military brat in France and Lackland Air Force Base in "Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations" (Hachette Book Group, 2019).

In fact, his memories as a military dependent, listening to his dad's WWII buddies' aviator stories, become a springboard for his own storytelling in this inspirational and patriotic read for Independence Day.

Here's how McRaven describes the character of the Greatest Generation:

"Like all the men and women of their generation, they were children of World War I, lived through the Depression, and the men all fought in World War II and Korea. They were survivors. They didn't complain. They didn't blame others for their misfortune. They worked hard and expected the same for their children. They treasured their friendships. They fought for their marriages. They wore their patriotism on their sleeve, and while they weren't naive about America's faults, they knew that no other country in the world valued their service as much as the United States did. They flew their flags proudly and without apology."

McRaven moves quickly from stories of his adventurous youth to life as a young officer and Navy SEAL leader.

He recounts boarding one of Saddam Hussein's oil tankers in 1990 as part of a Marine Expeditionary Unit/Special Operations Capable, which along with USS Okinawa (LPH-3), USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43), USS Ogden (LPD-5), USS Cayuga (LST-1186) and USS Durham (LKA-114) made up the Amphibious Ready Group/MEU Team.

Here's his description of life aboard a Navy ship, in this case USS Okinawa:

"Life aboard a Navy ship hadn't changed much in fifty years. The technology has changed, but as with the ships of World War II, you still lived in very close quarters, ate together, worked together, and fought together. There were all the human dynamics of people crammed into a steel hull, but that's where Navy discipline and a minimalistic lifestyle were crucial to having a well-oiled crew. The sailors slept in racks stacked three or four high. The only space for personal items was underneath your mattress or in a small locker. The officers' 'staterooms' were generally four men to a room, and the more senior officers were two to a room. Racks were made every morning. The sinks were always wiped down after use. Showers were three minutes – no more. You showed up for watch fifteen minutes prior to turnover. If you showed up fourteen minutes prior, you were late. The brass throughout the ship was polished to prevent corrosion. The passageways were swabbed. Old paint was chipped away and new coats of paint applied every week. Nothing was left unattended. Everything about your day was planned down to the minute. Even your free time was on the calendar. The rigor was tiring at times, but also reassuring and predictable and, in a strange way, comforting."

As for the Amuriyah, which initially resisted being boarded by McRaven and his team, it was eventually sunk by an A-6 from the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CV-41).

We read about McRavens role in fighting pirates (including leading the SEALs who rescued Captain Phillips), capturing Saddam Hussein, and killing Osama bin Laden.

SEALs in training, May 29. 2019. (USN photo, MCCS Jayme Pastoric)

McRaven says this about his warrior ethos:

"As terrible as it sounds, every SEAL longs for a worthy fight, a battle of convictions, and an honorable war. War challenges you manhood. It reaffirms your courage. It sets you apart from the timid souls and the bench sitters. It builds unbreakable bonds among your fellow warriors. It gives your life meaning. Over time, I would get more than my fair share of war. Men would be lost. Innocents would be killed. Families would be forever changed. But somehow, inexplicably, war would never lose its allure. To the warrior, peace has no memories, no milestones, no adventures, no heroic deaths, no gut-wrenching sorrow, no jubilation, no remorse, no repentance, and no salvation. Peace was meant for some people, but probably not for me."

He sees the role of the warfighter as the deliverer of justice. And, despite what he says, McRaven was meant for peace. Read how he believes in the human spirit, that despite our faults, humans are "worthy of this world":

"For every reckless belligerent who seeks war, there are thoughtful wise men and women who strive for peace. For all the unbridled hatred that abounds, there is an even greater amount of unconditional love. For every Al Qaeda torture house in Iraq, every Taliban death squad in Afghanistan, every suicide bomber in Somalia, every righteous zealot who kills indiscriminately, there are countless mothers who care for their children and fathers who raise their young sons and daughters to be honest and hardworking. Man's compassion far exceeds his greed. His caring is greater than his brutality. His courage outshines his cowardice and his sense of hope always prevails."

Simply and powerfully told, this collection of true stories is a great read for July 4th and a fitting addition to McRaven's #1 New York Times bestseller, "Make Your Bed."

During a Profiles in Leadership seminar, Retired U.S. Navy Adm. William H. McRaven speaks to service members inside the Pfingston Reception Center at Joint Base San Antonio – Lackland, Texas, Jan. 10, 2018. McRaven focused on character and how it applies to leadership. McRaven is University of Texas System Chancellor. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ave I. Young)

'The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China'

Review by Bill Doughty

"There are two big problems with water in China today. There is not enough of it to go around, and it is often so foul that no one can use it anyway."

So says author Philip Ball in "The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China" (University of Chicago Press, 2017).

What does this mean for China's future, and how will the Chinese people react?

Most of all, how could this happen in a country that has literally worshipped nature in general and water in particular?

Daoists respect the environment. Buddhists revere life. Followers of Confucius see the interconnectedness of ecology. Ancient Chinese wisdom says, "When water in uncontaminated, men's hearts are upright. When water is pure the people's hearts are at ease."

Ball shows the beautiful symmetry of the character for water, "shui."

He examines language as well as literature, politics and paintings over time, including in works by artists such as Ma Yuan, Shitao, Xia Gui, Fu Baoshi and Liu Wei. 

"The Water Kingdom" teaches readers about ancient stories of Chinese deities, goddesses and, yes, dragons. 

"Dragons are associated with water all over South East Asia. They were linked to rivers, to rain and to rainbows, which were sometimes depicted with a monstrous dragon's head at each end. Spring pools are often called dragon pools, and many have dragon temples on their shores: such veneration is respected. Dragons, like rivers, were also symbols of fertility, both for crops and for humans."

We get a deep dive into the meaning of water in China over the centuries – in mythology, in art, in survival and in military warfare. Water and naval battles played a pivotal role in the changing of dynasties, including for and against the Mongols, with Zheng/Koxinga, and against the British in the Opium Wars.

For military historians, this book examines the weapons/platforms, strategies/tactics, and people/waterways who waged naval warfare over time.

We see water's role, including as a weapon, not only in ancient times but also in World War II – including in the rise of the Communists as Mao and the People's Liberation Army fought the Western-backed Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang nationalists.

This Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image, acquired May 21, 2000, shows part of the Yangtze River in China, including the Wu Gorge, the middle of the three gorges. In this false-color image, red represents vegetated land surface and the light blue ribbon of pixels running left to right is the Yangtze River. Blue-green pixels show exposed land surfaces. The lift-out yellow box is the site of the Three Gorges Dam. DVIDS

But Communists under Mao Tse Tung saw nature as an enemy, according to Ball.

The Communists believed in taming and controlling nature rather than preserving it. "Man must use natural science to understand, conquer and change nature and thus attain freedom from nature," Mao said.

According to Ball, "The wanton environmental destruction of the Mao era was made all the worse by the urgency with which it was pursued."

 A burgeoning population, urbanization, industrialization – along with climate change – have only exacerbated the problems in China's lakes, rivers and streams.

"All of China's watersheds, and almost half of its water sources are now badly polluted by fertilizers, pesticides and heavy metals from mining and industry," according to Ball.

Lake Baiyandian is just one of the lakes getting smaller and becoming polluted:

ASTER 2002 images show dramatic flooding around Dongting Lake in Hunan province. DVIDS

"Baiyangidan, the shrinking great lake in Hebei, was once known as the Bright Pearl of northern China, a place of reeds and mist populated by mandarin ducks and wild geese. Its rich flora and fauna have provided a living for the local people, and its role in sustaining ecosystems and providing flood storage has won it the more prosaic title of the Kidney of North China. But thanks to an intake of toxins the region is now facing the prospect of kidney failure. Between 1988 and 1992, chemical and petrochemical plants and paper mills in the city of Baoding close to the lake shore discharged effluent into the waters, mixing with raw sewage from the city. Fish began to die off, and fishermen lost their livelihood. The lake water is now undrinkable."

So-called "techno fixes" such as the Grand Canal, South North Water Transfer Project and the Three Gorges Dam have had mixed results.

Dams can create their own problems, including devastating flooding. Lack of enforced regulation and an apparent ongoing lack of respect for nature is having a deadly effect, especially due to water pollution.

"All of China's waterways, and almost half of its water sources, are now badly polluted by fertilizers, pesticides and heavy metals from mining and industry. More than 300 million of its citizens live without access to safe drinking water. Even after treatment, 40 percent of the nation's water is fit only for industrial and agricultural use; a quarter of waste-treatment plants fail the quality controls. Regulation of chemical plants is very weak, and government agencies that nominally protect water quality in reality have very little power. Many of the wastewater treatment plants are ineffective; some stand idle. Thanks to contaminants such as arsenic, fluoride and toxins from untreated wastewater and leaching from landfills, a third of Chinese cities failed to meet drinking-water quality standards in 2006. Cancer rates are reported to be rising, and one leading researcher at the Chinese Academy of Science's cancer research institute says that this is because 'pollution of the environment, water and air is getting worse by the day.' Every year, it is estimated that water pollution in China produces 190 million casualties and around 60,000 fatalities."

Shitao, 1642-1707

According to Ball, China's waterways – through rivers, canals, irrigation projects, and other aspects of the hydraulic state also continue to "shape its political landscape."

The results of environmental degradation, particularly of sacred waterways, is resulting in public outcries and the rise of environmental activism. China has sanctioned and supported nongovernment organizations designed to relieve pressure and prevent mass protests. Referring to the Tiananmen revolt by students (30 years ago this month), Ball says, "There is nothing the Chinese government fears more than domestic unrest."

Will the people of China demand change?

"Some activists already sail close to the wind in their desire to see something resembling democracy emerge, in whatever form that might take – not so much because this is a fundamental right, but because it is the only way to achieve true harmony with the environment," Ball writes. He concludes, "The ancient, shared roots of both water philosophy and water management in China mean that this is an issue on which the country's leaders ignore the wishes of the people at their peril."

Power in a President's Words

Review by Bill Doughty

WWII heroes John F. Kennedy and Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.

The president didn't say this: "Words alone are not enough ... Where our strength and determination are clear, our words need merely to convey conviction, not belligerence. If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be of no help."

President John F. Kennedy was scheduled to share those thoughts in remarks in Dallas, Texas, Nov. 22, 1963, but a gunman cut him down. His killer may have silenced JFK's voice – but not his words.


Speechwriter Ted Sorensen reminds us of Kennedy's continuing "gifts of reason, intellect, and vitality" as well as his honesty, courage, eloquence in this inspiring collection:

"Let the Word Go Forth: The Speeches, Statements, and Writings of John F. Kennedy, 1947 to 1963," selected and with an introduction by Theodore C. Sorensen, Delacorte Press, 1988.

Character: In the book's introduction, Sorensen describes JFK with a quote by Lord Rosebery about the oratory of William Pitt: "It is not merely the thing that is said but the man who says it that counts, the character which breathes through the sentences."

A Navy veteran of World War II, like his brother Joe (who was killed in action in Europe), Kennedy's character was forged in service. JFK's words personified Navy core values of honor, courage and commitment.

He was able to balance being both serious and cool. And, he admitted to not being a perfect person or leader. Above all, he could connect with, inspire and unite people.

Sorensen selects some of Kennedy's speeches, statements and writings, primarily from his presidency, that show "John F. Kennedy at his wisest, warmest and wittiest." These excerpts are especially relevant today, more than fifty years later.


Honor

"...(O)ur nation is founded on the principle that observance of the law is the eternal safeguard of liberty and defiance of the law is the surest road to tyranny. The law which we obey includes the final rulings of the courts, as well as the enactments of our legislative bodies. Even among law-abiding men few laws are universally loved, but they are uniformly respected and not resisted. Americans are free, in short, to disagree with the law but not to disobey it. For in a government of laws and not of men, no man, however prominent or powerful, and no mob however unruly or boisterous, is entitled to defy a court of law. If this country should ever reach the point where any man or group of men by force or threat of force could long defy the commands of our court and our Constitution, then no law would stand free from doubt, no judge would be sure of his writ, and no citizen would be safe from his neighbors." – Televised address, Sept. 30, 1962

"If we are to be successful in the days to come ... then we need a government that is honest, a government that is efficient, a government that is dedicated, a government that is committed solely to the public interest." – Wittenberg College, Oct. 1, 1960

The president addresses the nation with honor and dignity.

"The great enemy of the truth is very often not the deliberate, contrived, and dishonest – but the myth – persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forbears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." – Yale University, June 11, 1962

"The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies, and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust." – State of the Union, Jan. 30, 1961

"[I]t is hardly an accident that Robert Frost coupled poetry and power, for he saw poetry as the means of saving power from itself. When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. For art establishes the basic human truth which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment. The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure." – United States Senate, June 14, 1960

"Leaving Fear Astern." A Sailor jogs aboard USS Abraham Lincoln in 2008. (MC2 James Evans)

Courage

"We are not lulled by the momentary calm of the sea or the somewhat clearer skies above. We know the turbulence that lies below, and the storms that are beyond the horizon this year. But now the winds of change appear to be blowing more strongly than ever ... For 175 years we have sailed with those winds at our back, and with the tides of human freedom in our favor. We steer our ship with hope, as Thomas Jefferson said, 'leaving Fear astern.'" – State of the Union, Jan. 14, 1963

"First, were we truly men of courage – with the courage to stand up to one's enemies – and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to one's own associates – the courage to resist public pressure as well as private greed?
"Secondly, were we truly men of judgment – with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the past – of our own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others – with enough wisdom to know what we did not know, and enough candor to admit it?
"Third, were we truly men of integrity – men who never ran out of either the principles in which we believed or the people who believed in us – men whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust?
"Finally, were we truly men of dedication – with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group, and compromised by no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public good and the national interest?" – Massachusetts State Legislature, Jan. 9, 1961

President Kennedy meets with unidentified naval officers at the White House.

"The primary purpose of our arms is peace, not war – to make certain that they will never be used – to deter all wars, general or limited, nuclear or conventional, large or small – to convince all potential aggressors that any attack would be futile – to provide backing for diplomatic settlement of disputes – to insure the adequacy of our bargaining power for an end to the arms race. The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution."
"The elimination of waste, duplication, and outmoded or unjustifiable expenditure items from the defense budget is a long and arduous undertaking, resisted by special arguments and interests from economic, military, technical, and other special groups ... But hard decisions must be made. Unneeded facilities or projects must be phased out. The defense establishment must be lean and fit, efficient and effective, always adjusting to new opportunities and advances, and planning for the future. The national interest must be weighed against special or local interests; and it is the national interest that calls upon us to cut our losses and cut back those programs in which a very dim promise no longer justifies a large cost." – Special Message to Congress on Defense Policies and Principles, March 28, 1961

Commander in Chief Pres. Kennedy with Army Green Beret leaders.

"(We) have no greater asset than the willingness of a free and determined people, through its elected officials, to face all problems frankly and meet all dangers free from panic or fear." 
"The deadly arms race, and the huge resources it absorbs, have too long overshadowed all else we must do. We must prevent that arms race from spreading to new nations, to new nuclear powers, and to the reaches of outer space."
"We must sharpen our political and diplomatic tools – the means of cooperation and agreement on which an enforceable world order must ultimately rest." – State of the Union, Jan. 30, 1961

"The most effective means of upholding the law is not the State policeman or the marshals or the National Guard. It is you. It lies in your courage to accept those laws with which you disagree as well as those with which you agree." – 
Radio/TV remarks, Sept. 30, 1962

Dawn breaks over San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD 23) Aug. 5, 2018 in the Pacific Ocean. (MC3 Ryan M. Breeden)

Commitment

From "The New Ocean of Space":

"Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolution, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power; and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it—we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.
"Yet the vows of this Nation can only be fulfilled if we in this Nation are first, and, therefore, we intend to be first. In short, our leadership in science and industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations to ourselves as well as others, all require us to make this effort, to solve these mysteries, to solve them for the good of all men, and to become the world's leading space-faring nation.

JFK delivers his New Ocean of Space speech at Rice University, Sept. 12, 1962

"We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like nuclear science and all technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of pre-eminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war. I do not say that we should or will go unprotected against the hostile misuse of space any more than we go unprotected against the hostile use of land or sea, but I do say that space can be explored and mastered without feeding the fires of war, without repeating the mistakes that man has made in extending his writ around this globe of ours.
"There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?
"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win ..." – Rice University, Sept. 12, 1962

Kennedy proposes sweeping civil rights legislation to Congress in 1963.

"[T]he average American of Caucasian descent does not realize that it is he who is a member of a minority race – and a minority religion – and a minority political system – and that he is regarded with some suspicion, if not hostility, by most of (a) restless, envious, surging majority. The tide of human dignity is worldwide – and the eyes of that world are upon us. It is not enough to deplore violence in other lands. It is up to us to prove that our way – the way of peaceful change and democratic processes – can fulfill those goals better than any other system under the sun. It is up to us to rebuild our image abroad by rebuilding our image here at home." – NAACP Rally, July 10, 1962

"To our sister republics to the south, we have pledged a new alliance for progress – Alianza para el Progreso. Our goal is a free and prosperous Latin America, realizing for all its states and all its citizens a degree of economic and social progress that matches their historic contributions of culture, intellect and liberty. – Latin American Diplomatic Corps, March 13, 1961

"No one can doubt that cooperation in the pursuit of knowledge must lead to freedom of the mind and freedom of the soul." – University of California, Berkeley, March 23, 1962

The prospective aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) is the second ship in the Gerald R. Ford class, the Navy's newest class of nuclear aircraft carriers. The ship's first steel was cut in Dec. 2010, and delivery to the Navy is scheduled no later than 2022. (U.S. Navy courtesy photo, DVIDS)

The Unfinished Agenda

A theme running through Kennedy's (and Sorensen's) words is unity, e pluribus unum: out of many, one.

"Let our patriotism be reflected in the creation of confidence in one another, rather than in crusades of suspicion. Let us prove we think our country great, by striving to make it greater. And, above all, let us remember, however serious the outlook, however harsh the task, the one great irreversible trend in the history of the world is on the side of liberty – and we, for all time to come, are on the same side." -- Remarks in L.A. Nov. 18, 1961

"The forces that unite are deeper than those that divide." – National Cultural Center, Nov. 29, 1962

Sorensen concludes this collection with a speech he calls "The Unfinished Agenda," Kennedy was to again call for unity and for all Americans to fight against "ignorance and misinformation" and the "voices preaching doctrines wholly unrelated to reality."

"We in this country, in this generation, are – by destiny rather than choice – the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time an for all time the ancient vision of 'peace on earth, goodwill toward men.' That must always be our goal, and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength." – Remarks prepared for delivery in Dallas (undelivered), Nov. 22, 1963.


BONUS – President Kennedy's Visit with U.S. Coast Guard :

Semper Paratus