The formal invitation arrived several days later and I discovered that I was sailing under false colors. I was not invited, as I assumed, as the flamboyant master of submarine espionage depicted in the best selling book Blind Man's Bluff. Instead it was clear that my invitation was based on my role as the Past Director of the Law of the Sea Institute, an international NGO dedicated to the creation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. I was thus expected to say, as I will say, that it is imperative that the United States ratify this convention. It was also apparent that I was invited as the President of the Common Heritage Corporation, a company intimately involved in the use of ocean resources and dedicated to the management of innovation for the benefit of humanity. I was thus also expected to say,-as I will say,-that society must commit itself to research and development of programs leading to the use of ocean resources and ocean space to change our world into an environmentally sustainable habitat for its burgeoned and burgeoning population.
I am here today, therefore, as the wearer of three distinctly different caps; one representing my years of involvement in national security, another designating me as a proponent of transnational law and justice and a third worn by an innovator of futuristic technology. Yet it is my contention that my roles are connected by more than just the ocean. They also form an integrated view of the future-a view that I believe society must come to accept for its survival.
Through the anecdotes that follow. I hope to provide my fellow Americans insights into the lessons that I have learned during my careers with the hope of convincing you about the importance-indeed the need of sharing my hopes and aspirations for humanity.
Those of you familiar with my own recent book, The Silent War, may recall my description of "The Polaris Marching and Chowder Society." This Honolulu-based group of submariners all had a role in the development of the Polaris Fleet Ballistic Missile system (the nation's first undersea strategic deterrent). The Society has met for breakfast once each month for the past two decades. I quote from my book here: "What prevents this breakfast from being just another gathering of old timers is the regular attendance of the active duty commander of the submarine forces of the Pacific fleet and members of his staff. This is a family breakfast and a rare opportunity for the family elders to offer their wisdom to the young in command. I am an adopted member of this family and except for myself, all are qualified to wear the dolphins of the submarine service."
A surprising number are also qualified to wear the master divers pin which suggests that they are a part of the teams of "saturated divers" (i.e. humans as marine mammals on the open ocean seabed of the worlds continental shelves) who have carried out highly classified "special operations" of intelligence gathering for more than thirty years."
At the Society's meeting this past October 3rd, the events of September 11thwere fresh in all members' minds. I distributed copies of The Silent War to young officers who were first time attendees. I note that my book was written with the tacit encouragement of the Navy and the Intelligence services to tell the story of these operations as they should be told without compromising national security. The very existence of these special operations was a secret until the publication of Blind Man's Bluff. Sensitive details will not be revealed on the web or discussed here or at any meeting of the Marching and Chowder Society, but my book details the philosophy and strategy employed in winning the Cold War without firing a shot. The relevance of that philosophy and that strategy to he war against terrorism was a major topic at the Society's last meeting.
I reminded the Society of an unclassified talk given by former CIA Director Robert Gates at a reunion of the submarine Parche - the winner of seven Presidential Unit citations. He asserted that the CIA had four classes of heroes: 1) operatives in the field who intercepted vital communications; 2) scientists and technicians who designed equipments and units that could intercept communications; 3) the operatives of those equipments in environments where their skills were required and where their lives were in danger; and 4) the analysts in the intelligence agencies who interpreted the results of these missions and transmitted them to the President for those national policy positions and actions which would deter war and win the peace. Director Gates then informed the men of Parche that the missions of the United States Navy submarine service were the most important of all the missions that had been conducted and that their story "had to be told."
The morning meeting ended with the thought that now more than ever the story had to be told for its relevance to the new conflict. Indeed, that very morning Donald Rumsfield reminded the public of the long drawn out but successful Cold War experience that we might have to endure to resolve the current terrorism conflict. What emerged from that meeting were insights into what I might characterize as my first lesson of this afternoon:
At the least we should know that we the people of the United States of America have occupied inner space in a manner that we cannot hope to accomplish in outer space for a decade or more. Americans should know that we can publish and proclaim this capability in a way that will not compromise national security but will tell those that would do us harm that we are in full control of the undersea environment. We should so publish, we should so proclaim.
This woman and a hundred or so others were about to hurtle through the sky at 40,000 feet at more than five hundred miles per hour - a remarkable transportation achievement. Science and technology have made air travel so safe that the statistical likelihood of her demise remained an extraordinarily low probability event - recent unpleasantness notwithstanding - to assure her I gave her a copy of The Silent War inscribed with my most immediate relevant poetic thoughts of the moment. "and the night shall be filled with music and the cares that infest the day shall fold their tents like the nomads (sic Arabs) and as silently steal away" Later that evening as with headphones on my head and brandy in my hand I looked out the window to see the glow of the lights of Denver below my last thoughts before sweet sleep possessed me were "shall I be lifted to the skies on flowery beds of ease while others seek to win the prize and sail through stormy seas." Ah yes, my fellow Americans the lesson of this anecdote was taught to us by by Franklin Delano Roosevelt as we faced the stark reality of World WarII "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" Upon my arrival in Washington, I repaired to the Rayburn Building for John Norton Moores seminar on the international law of defense against terrorism. I listened to an erudite set of legal papers presented by brilliant scholars including the Honorable Stephen Schwebel, former President International Court of Justice, Professor Ruth Wedgwood of the Yale Law School and Professor Malvina Halberstam Professor Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. A central issue discussed was whether in the present instance, state sponsored assassination of a terrorist such as Osama Bin Laden would be murder or legally justified as an act of self-defense. I remarked to a most distinguished legal colleague seated next to me that I thought it was a matter of perspective as to whether you were holding the trigger or peering into the barrel of a gun. My colleague shot me down with the rejoinder that my remark was political and not legal.
I believe Ghandi had the better view. Certainly to the surprise of many not closely familiar with his philosophy, he has written: "I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence." To be sure, Ghandi characterized violence as an animal response and non-violence as a civilized alternative. Violence becomes acceptable, however, when there is no alternative - that is when a decision to take no action emerges from fear rather than strength. This lesson is one that is particularly timely to Americans today.
In any event, all participants including Schwebel agreed that the definitive word of law was enunciated by the United Nations Security Council Resolutions of September 12 and September 28. Indeed until the Council spoke unanimously, the United States was not assured of the protection of all of the member States in its actions against terrorist acts. Americans should finally realize that, regardless of individual political feelings about this international body, we have no choice but to seek its protection in the declaration of International Law in the face of a world crisis.
What is our facility? It utilizes the sun and deep ocean water as its primary resource. Deep Ocean water or DOW is very cold, very rich in nutrients and very biologically pure. We convert sea water into fresh water in a device called a microclimate tower, which operates like nature - using the cheap cold at the top of the tower to condense vapor from hot ocean water at the bottom. We do air conditioning and industrial cooling utilizing deep ocean water that passes through reclaimed automobile radiators. We grow cold water algae utilizing the deep ocean water nutrients and then use the algae as compost and food for humans, for abalone, for shrimps and lobsters and fish. We have also developed a form of agriculture that utilizes deep ocean water passing through PVC pipes in the ground, producing more than enough condensate for irrigation and a thermodynamic environment that can only be characterized as a super spring.
But our facility is also designed as habitat. Accordingly, it does more than demonstrate the emoluments of life. Young children who visit our facility are quick to understand a habitat is more than life - it must also foster liberty and the pursuit of happiness. To that end, our facility features every kind of crop and food product, every kind of flower, parks and gardens and athletic fields for soccer and even golf.
Our facility has been successful beyond our wildest dreams. By way of
illustration, let me tell you what we are doing with grapes. We have grape
vines that grow in the hot desert without any rain or external irrigation.
Cold ocean water pipes embedded three feet deep at the root zone provide the
irrigation water and the thermodynamic climate. When the grapes are ripe
and harvested, the cold water is turned off. The vines are then pruned and,
after a week of dormancy, the cold water is turned on again and the vines
produce yet another crop. Three abundant crops per year are produced, one
of which is illustrated by the photograph
But returning to Haiti briefly, we confront the basic problem that it cannot avail itself of our technology for the simple reason that it requires a not insignificant number of dollars to install a system. Export crops are, of course, one way to raise dollars, but these crops must first be produced. In order to simulate the economic obstacles to the installation of a CHC sustainable facility in a country like Haiti, CHC operates as "bare-bones" a corporation as you are likely to see in the developed world. CHC has not borrowed any money from a bank. It utilizes where legal and possible its management and student trainees for construction and labor much as is done by organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. Apart from a small amount of power and a very limited amount of external supplies, the entire facility is self-sustaining.
Thus, the jars of jelly 
provided to each of you symbolically and literally
represents what CHC's technology can make possible with developing world
production techniques, notwithstanding all of the economic limitations. The
glass jars and tops were manufactured in the Dominican Republic. The label
was designed by a member of CHC's Board of Directors and printed out
utilizing obsolete computers and printers purchased at a thrift shop. The
cartons were assembled and loaded by my family here in Washington - and we
could not prevent my two year old granddaughter from filling the boxes and
applying the stickers as decorations as a form of play.
What more can CHC do to demonstrate the viability of environmentally
sustainable habitats? We carried our power point (ppt) road show to Mexico with a
high level presentation to Fonaes, the Government Agency responsible for
economic development for the poor. Enthralled by our presentation they asked
how much an initial 100-acre installation would cost. Between five and ten
million dollars was CHC's reply - a bargain. They were appalled. The entire
budget for the country of Mexico was only 70 million dollars per year - a
simple result of the devaluation of the peso.
AMERICANS, WE AND THE WORLD MUST FIND A WAY TO START THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS THAT LEADS TO AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE WORLD
I speak not from an abstract perspective of what a good and just society would do. Instead, I am asserting an imperative. The unfortunate incidents of the past month have revealed that we can no longer ignore the resource limitations that confront the world. The gap between rich and poor nations grows greater and greater, the population of the developing grows at alarming rates, yet even the best-intentioned citizens of developed nations have done little more than engage in impassioned rhetoric. We have let our global educational and research activities atrophy and decay we have imposed the production of our material comforts on the impoverished and overpopulated peoples of the undeveloped world. We have replaced reality with a dazzling world of virtual reality but September 11th has taught us that there are realities that we can no longer ignore. I speak from a lifetime of immersion in that real world and from that experience I do conclude that there is hope.
Americans we must and we can work with the world to end terrorism
there is no alternative,
we must and we can work with the world
to defuse the threats of nuclear war there is no alternative,
we
must and we can work with the world to establish an international regime
for the wise use of the ocean, there is no alternative;
we must and we can start the world development process that
leads to an environmentally sustainable world habitat for humanity
there is no alternative