World War II is on my mind this week - not just because I wrote to you last week from Berlin where Adolph Hitler launched the European part of World War II and ended it in his bunker nearly six years later. I'm also thinking about World War II this week because today marks the official release of my new novel, Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th, written with historian Bill Forstchen. (I may be near you in the next few weeks so I hope you will check my schedule at newt.org.)
Pearl Harbor is first and foremost a book of stories - the stories of the people and the events surrounding the time leading up to and including the Japanese attacks on Dec. 7, 1941. (You'll have to buy the book to find out why it is subtitled "A Novel of December 8th" but you won't be disappointed.)
But as a former history teacher, I prepare for the future by studying the past. So we made sure that we conveyed through the stories told in Pearl Harbor some important lessons for America today.
Lesson One: Intelligence Can Fail
One of the lessons of Pearl Harbor that is most relevant today is that intelligence can fail. In the months and weeks before the attack, for instance, America was reading the Japanese codes. We thought we knew what they were up to, but we were tragically wrong. The Japanese caught our fleet napping at Pearl Harbor. Thousands of Americans were killed. And the nation was drawn into the Pacific War.
And not just with the Japanese, but in assessing the leaders and events of the Second World War, Western intelligence was wrong. Again and again, we were wrong about what we thought we knew about Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin.
So the lesson for today, as we confront dangerous dictatorships in Iran, North Korea and elsewhere, is critical: You can have the best possible intelligence, and you can still make big mistakes. That's why we need to have top-rate national security and homeland security programs. Because when our intelligence fails us, we need to be able to survive, recover and win.
Lesson Two: The Importance of Communication Between Different Cultures
Another of the lessons of Pearl Harbor is the importance of communicating clearly and believably with countries that are very different from our own.
Looking back, it's clear the Americans and the British really misunderstood the Japanese - and more importantly, the Japanese really misunderstood the Americans and the British.
If the Japanese had understood the scale of our response, they wouldn't have started the war. They greatly underestimated how angry we would be at a surprise attack. And they greatly underestimated how determined President Franklin Roosevelt would be to fight and win.
The lesson for today is that it's important to reach out across cultures. Not as a gesture of surrender, but as an expression of strength. Whether it's Putin's Russia, Ahmadinejad's Iran or the North Korean dictatorship, we need to truly understand our opponents - and make sure they understand us.
Lesson Three: Technology Matters
The story of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is also a perfect example of the power of modern technology.
The Japanese had made several technological advances that literally made their surprise attack on Dec. 7, 1941, possible.
In 1941, the Japanese had the best naval air force in the world. They had practiced and practiced and knew how to use their aircraft carriers better than we used ours. They had developed the ability to refuel at sea, so they could come all the way across the Pacific to surprise us in Hawaii. And they had also developed a torpedo that could be dropped into very shallow water, which allowed them to strike in the harbor on December 7.
So one of the greatest lessons of Pearl Harbor is simply that technology matters. Today, just as yesterday, a country that wants to survive is a country that can take advantage of science and technology.
Lesson Four: Isolationism Is Normal
Today, too many Americans tend to look back at World War II and think that it was such a clear-cut case of good vs. evil, so it must have been easy for Americans to go to war.
In fact, Americans are always reluctant to go to war. Avoiding war - even to the point of being short-sighted about the threats that exist - is normal in a democracy.
But sometimes war is unavoidable. And in those times, it falls to great leaders to convince the American people of the sacrifice necessary to preserve our civilization.
It's not always easy. In one scene in Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt struggles with how to respond to the Japanese bombing of the U.S. Navy ship Panay in 1937. Roosevelt had his hands tied. The American people were deeply opposed to doing anything about the attack. But what made Roosevelt a great President is that he knew just how far to lead the American people: Not any further then they would tolerate, but ultimately far enough to free a continent and save a civilization.
Lesson Five: Uncommon Valor Was a Common Virtue
Our history teaches us a lot about who we are and how we can plan for our future. But the most enduring fact about that fateful morning in Hawaii in 1941 is something that can't be learned. It's something that seems to exist - untaught and untutored - in the American spirit.
There are many tales of heroism that emerged that morning and no tales of cowardice.
Literally within seconds, our soldiers, sailors and Marines, often without orders from higher command, made the instant transition from a peace-time force to a fighting force.
Come to think of it, we witnessed the exact same thing on 9/11. Caught by surprise in a vicious attack, thousands of ordinary citizens - especially our firefighters and police force - rose to the occasion, many of them knowingly going to their death while trying to save others.
We can learn a lot from history about the character required to sustain a nation at war. Luckily for America, we seem to have that type of character in abundance.
Your friend,
P.S. - I hope you will go to this website for some bonus audio and video on Pearl Harbor as well as my travel schedule over the next two weeks as we sign books and answer question across the country. It also includes information on a special event in Honolulu on Memorial Day with Col. Ollie North and Sean Hannity that will raise money for the children of Americans who have given their lives or been wounded in the defense of their country. If we are coming near you or if you have friends in these cities, I hope you and they will come to the book signings.
P.P.S. - Last week, I told you about Knut the polar bear who some animal rights activists said should be killed instead of being raised by humans. Callista and I visited Knut last week at the wonderful Berlin Zoo. Here are some pictures.
