National Security and Self-Determination - by Howard P Willens & Deanne C Siemer (Hardcover)

About the Book

After World War II, the United States assumed responsibilities for the Northern Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and the Marshall Islands under a 1947 trusteeship agreement with the United Nations. The United States had the obligation to prepare these Micronesians for self-government or independence after termination of the trusteeship, but the Interior, State, and Defense Departments paid little attention to this question until 1961.

Willens and Siemer examine the Kennedy administration's formation of a new Micronesian policy aimed at bringing these islanders under U.S. sovereignty by 1968, the inability of the federal agencies to achieve this objective, and their refusal to acknowledge that the Northern Marianas people had very different economic and political aspirations than the other Micronesians. By 1969, the Micronesian leaders--except for those of the Northern Marianas--were increasingly attracted to a future political status that rejected United States citizenship and had most of the attributes of a sovereign nation-state. Willens and Siemer analyze the initial negotiations between United States and Micronesian representatives, the inability of the United States to respond positively to the demands of the Micronesian negotiators, and the national defense and strategic objectives at issue. By April 1972, the United States recognized that its non-fragmentation policy conflicted with the right of self-determination of the Northern Marianas people and agreed to separate status negotiations with them. A detailed review of recent Micronesian history that will be of considerable value to U.S. government officials involved with insular affairs and foreign policy and scholars and researchers of Micronesian, Pacific islands, and Marianas affairs.

Book Synopsis

After World War II, the United States assumed responsibilities for the Northern Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and the Marshall Islands under a 1947 trusteeship agreement with the United Nations. The United States had the obligation to prepare these Micronesians for self-government or independence after termination of the trusteeship, but the Interior, State, and Defense Departments paid little attention to this question until 1961.

Willens and Siemer examine the Kennedy administration's formation of a new Micronesian policy aimed at bringing these islanders under U.S. sovereignty by 1968, the inability of the federal agencies to achieve this objective, and their refusal to acknowledge that the Northern Marianas people had very different economic and political aspirations than the other Micronesians. By 1969, the Micronesian leaders--except for those of the Northern Marianas--were increasingly attracted to a future political status that rejected United States citizenship and had most of the attributes of a sovereign nation-state. Willens and Siemer analyze the initial negotiations between United States and Micronesian representatives, the inability of the United States to respond positively to the demands of the Micronesian negotiators, and the national defense and strategic objectives at issue. By April 1972, the United States recognized that its non-fragmentation policy conflicted with the right of self-determination of the Northern Marianas people and agreed to separate status negotiations with them. A detailed review of recent Micronesian history that will be of considerable value to U.S. government officials involved with insular affairs and foreign policy and scholars and researchers of Micronesian, Pacific islands, and Marianas affairs.

Review Quotes

"Based on extensive interviews and previously classified documents, the authors vividly describe the efforts of Defense, State, and Interior officials to implement President Kennedy's 1962 policy to bring the entire area under United States' sovereignty. These efforts were unsuccessful, however, until a single individual, Ambassador Haydn Williams, was appointed in 1971 to take charge of the interagency effort to negotiate with the Micronesians. The impressive results that Haydn Williams achieved in establishing a permanent relationship between the Micronesian people and the United States while, at the same time, protecting US defense interests and meeting United Nations requirements, are a great tribute to this exceptional diplomat. This book makes a major contribution in analyzing and evaluating this particular chapter of recent American political history."-Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr. USN Ret. Former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Former Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

"The creation of a new political relationship between the United States and a far-off group of islands--islands known to few Americans other than veterans of the Pacific campaign of World War II--would not be expected to entrance the general reader. But not only natives of the Northern Marianas and incipient political scientists will find this book rewarding. The Siemer-Willens combine has produced an accounting that is vivid, engaging, and in my experience accurate, revealing wonderful insights into the decision-making process both in Washington and abroad. It is both compelling and instructive."-Ruth G. Van Cleve Former Director Office of Territorial Affairs Department of the Interior

"This book tells the full story of America's colonial practices and the struggle to change them. There's nothing so difficult as being a colony without a vote in a democracy."-Walter J Hickel former Governor of Alaska and U.S. Secretary of Interior

.,."gives us something no other work on this period has done. It provides the textured background that I wish had been available to me when I was writing my own history of the region."-Journal of Cold War Studies

?...gives us something no other work on this period has done. It provides the textured background that I wish had been available to me when I was writing my own history of the region.?-Journal of Cold War Studies

?National Security and Self-Determination is both a fascinating case study in political science and a solid work of diplomatic history.?-H-Net Reviews in the Humanities & Social Sciences

?The book is useful record of an important episode in modern Pacific history. It also deserves to be read as a cautionary tale, by students of policy-making and administration whatever their area of interest.?-The International History Review

?Willens and Siemer provide an even-handed, rich, and detailed account of the negotiations between the Americans and the Micronesians for the decade under review....The authors provide a good sense of the hard-fought contest over issues of vital importance to all concerned.?-The Contemporary Pacific

..."gives us something no other work on this period has done. It provides the textured background that I wish had been available to me when I was writing my own history of the region."-Journal of Cold War Studies

"National Security and Self-Determination is both a fascinating case study in political science and a solid work of diplomatic history."-H-Net Reviews in the Humanities & Social Sciences

"The book is useful record of an important episode in modern Pacific history. It also deserves to be read as a cautionary tale, by students of policy-making and administration whatever their area of interest."-The International History Review

"Willens and Siemer provide an even-handed, rich, and detailed account of the negotiations between the Americans and the Micronesians for the decade under review....The authors provide a good sense of the hard-fought contest over issues of vital importance to all concerned."-The Contemporary Pacific

About the Author

HOWARD P. WILLENS is a Managing Director of Wilsie Co., LLC. Mr. Willens has practiced law in Washington in both the public and private sectors. He served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Assistant Counsel to the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, and as Executive Director of the President's Commission on Crime in the District of Columbia. He assisted the Northern Marianas people in their status negotiations with the United States, 1972-1976, served as lead counsel to the First Marianas Constitutional Convention in 1976, and has represented the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands since 1978 on a variety of status-related issues.

DEANNE C. SIEMER is a Managing Director of Wilsie Co. LLC. Ms. Siemer has practiced law in Washington in both the public and private sectors. She served as General Counsel of the Department of Defense, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Energy, and Special Counsel to the President. She supervised a team of lawyers and support personnel at the First Marianas Constitutional Convention in 1976, coauthored a law review analysis of the Marianas Constitution, and served as counsel to the Third Marianas Constitutional Convention in 1995. She is a member of the American Law Institute and served on the Board of Trustees of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.