Embattled Island: Palau's Struggle for Independence [Hardcover]

Arnold H. Leibowitz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0275953904 | ISBN-13: 978-0275953904 | Publication Date: February 28, 1996

Palau was the last trusteeship, not only of the United States but the last trusteeship in the world. For 25 years the United States tried to negotiate an agreement--a compact--with Palau. Under this compact, Palau would gain its independence as a Freely Associated State and a large amount of money, $500 million; while the U.S. obtained certain military base rights and passage of nuclear power ships and submarines. The compact took on enormous symbolic importance throughout the world because of a provision in the Palau Constitution that Palau could not grant the U.S. nuclear rights without the approval of 75% of the people of Palau. A number of groups fought against ratification of the compact by Palau. They viewed Palau as the symbol of a nuclear free Pacific and the hope for an environmental preserve against great power imperialism and military intrusion in the Pacific. Three Congressional committees with different views toward the compact engaged the ratification issue. In Palau, the Executive and Palauan Congress were equally divided. President Remeliik, the first elected President in Palau, was assassinated. Lazarus Salii, the second elected President, committed suicide. Why these events occurred and how they linked to compact ratification is part of the story of this book. The book moves between the U.S.-Washington scene and the local Palau scene. The end of the book discusses the reasons for Salii's suicide and discloses who killed President Remeliik. The book ends with the 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the Battle of Peleliu, the final ratification of the Compact of Free Association, and the description of the Independence Day ceremonies in Palau.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A participant-observer, Liebowitz blends personal knowledge of persons and events with an objective analysis of the political dynamics of the decolonization process. Heavily documented, the work will stand for a long time as the definitive work on Palau. Liebowitz's book represents a valuable case study in the negotiations of the Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US. It belongs in academic libraries with significant holdings in the Pacific region or international relations.”–Choice

“Arnold Leibowitz has insightfully touched upon the country's more intimate matters with the unique deftness of a sympathetic federal status negotiator. Involved with U.S. territorial matters since 1964, the author has written extensively on the subject, including the critically acclaimed Defining Status: A Comprehensive Analysis of U.S. Territorial Relations, which has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and a number of lower courts. The two books have much in common--politically oriented, articulate and scholarly, very comprehensive and unusually balanced--which, undoubtedly, should serve as a standard bearer for Pacific scholars.”–Pacific Magazine

“Embattled Island is a must read for those interested in Pacific affairs.”–Pacific Sunday News

“Wonderful, and quite readable....this book is a poignant and exciting account of part of the formation of one of the world's newest and smallest nations. All Pacific-philes will want to read it.”–Professor Dirk Anthony Ballendorf Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam

About the Author

ARNOLD H. LEIBOWITZ has written extensively about the territories, Commonwealths, and Freely Associated States of the United States, and has represented almost all of them before the Federal government since 1964 when he was General Counsel of the U.S. Commission of the Status of Puerto Rico.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Praeger Publishers (February 28, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275953904
• ISBN-13: 978-0275953904
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,799,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A review by a Palauan Political Science/History Major, May 16, 1998

By 

Carl Quay Polloi ([e-mail]) (Scranton, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Embattled Island: Palau's Struggle for Independence (Hardcover)

Leibowitz's work is unique among the recent works done on Palau in that he is not as condemning of the United States as his predecessors (Sue Roff, Ched Myers, Robert Aldirge, Roger Clark, John Hinck). In fact, he is critical of the "advocates" from the "left" and points out that Roff's work ". . . is [a] very selective, one-sided telling of the tale, omitting, for example, any mention of Salii's death . . ." Leibowitz's work is indeed valuable as it presents a different angle and does include some aspects of the "tale" which shed more light on the happenings of the 80's. Moreover, it is at least a bit more expansive in the sense that, unlike his literary predecessors, his work begins with Palau's earlier history and ends with the independence celebration. Of course, he has the advantage of time since independence celebration was held after Roff, Aldridge, Myers and others had published their works. But what of the United States role? For Leibowitz, the United States did fail in several ways including its delay of self-determination. However, the United States is not solely responsible for the troubles, he asserts, since the Palauans were in on the act as well. Palauans, Leibowitz argues contrarily to Aldridge and Myers "society of people" thesis, were competitive and self-confident people. They have a history of internal competition which explains much of the pro-Compact and pro-Constitution stances which the divergent camps took. Instead of a "society of people" theirs is more like a "society of competitors." Moreover, Leibowitz argues that the pro-Constitution group were not as potent in their opposition if it were not for the liberal press and the legal aid provided by outside groups such as Greenpeace. In other words, the water could have been calmer in the Palau if outside meddling by interest groups was limited. The anti-Compact Palauans, therefore, were merely pawns controlled for the most part by the motives of outside gr! oups from the left. As for American neglect, it is regretful, Leibowitz concedes, but the United States was not necessarily deliberate in its neglect since it "hated its own imperial role and seemed to take out its anger by providing stingy budgets for the islands." Leibowitz makes his case although he too is guilty of the same charge he makes, specifically that of the other writers' omission of other aspects of the "tale." For instance, he fails to explain his views on some specifics such as the shots fired at the home of a staunch anti-Compact legislator (Sen. Olikong) as well as the overprinted ballots. These are just a few and Leibowitz's work is hence sketchy at times, not to mention its unclear or unspecified documentation. His halfhearted defense and sometimes evident admiration for Salii might be explained by the fact that he was the president's attorney at a critical point in the "tale" and when he accounts for some of his tasks under Salii, he seems to be taking on the role of a lobbyist more so than an attorney. Furthermore, and ironically for a lawyer, he seems to disregard or at least treat lightly the leftist legal argument that the Compact was indeed undermining the struggle for self-determination which in turn violates U.S. responsibilities provided in the Trusteeship Agreement. Other omissions can be noted but engaging each would be too tedious and perhaps might be overstepping the constraints of a short review.