Book Review: Galactic Diplomacy – Getting to Yes with ET

Review by Giorgio Piacenza Cabrera

This book is a comprehensive source for individuals who think  that sufficient evidence merits acceptance of the premise that intelligent extraterrestrials are already interacting with humanity and who are already asking what an appropriate, democratic, political response might be (even if an unsupervised “shadow government” maintains negotiations, exchanges and de facto agreements not only detached from common democratic processes but with the extraterrestrial groups it finds more appropriate. “Galactic Diplomacy: Getting to Yes with ET” is a seminal book written to offer a leading edge analysis of the nature of different extraterrestrial groups so that mindful citizens willing to represent their “vital interests” and even those of humanity, the Earth and even of all planetary sentient beings acquire basic, general information to intelligently proceed with a peaceful, “track two,” complementary, citizen’s “Galactic Diplomacy.”

Michael E. Salla has a PhD in Government from the University of Queensland and an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Melbourne. He was Professor of Politics at American University and at George Washington University, held an academic appointment at the School of International Service and was a researcher in residence at the Center for Global Peace. As a distinguished scholar in conflict resolution and foreign policy Dr. Salla wrote The Hero’s Journey: Toward a Second American Century, substantiating America’s need to remember its national character by conducting a principled foreign policy. After conducting distinguished fieldwork and research in ethnic conflict resolution in East Timor, Sri, Lanka, Kosovo and Macedonia, Dr. Salla founded (in 2005) Exopolitics Institute and Exopolitics Journal and became an internationally acclaimed promoter of the leading-edge field of Exopolitics.  In 2004, Dr. Salla published Exopolitics: Political Implications of the Extraterrestrial Presence (seminally defining Exopolitics within the framework of the social sciences) and in 2009, he published Exposing U.S. Government Policies on Extraterrestrial Life: The Challenge of Exopolitics carefully describing that the U.S. has secretly implemented a policy of research, technology gathering and exchanges with intelligent extraterrestrial life.

By cross-referencing information from selected notable contact experiencers (typifying a diversity of contacts), credible whistleblowers, selected channelers and leaked government documents Dr. Salla explores what different extraterrestrial civilizations might be up to, not only confirming that a major cover-up is proceeding (possibly nourishing unholy alliances with less convenient or adverse extraterrestrial groups) but also surveying what principled negotiations with extraterrestrial civilizations would entail, including the possibility that numerous denizens of our galactic community may respectfully offer us educational options while gently attempting to awaken  remembrance of our cosmic nature and inmost potentials.

There’s a well-balanced exposition of issues pertaining to exodiplomacy. For instance (besides delving INTO who might adequately represent Earth in exodiplomatic negotiations), issues of how some ET groups might manipulate citizen diplomats or if (from the perspective of ET groups) open citizen’s negotiations will be as binding as covert government ones? Will exodiplomacy be allowed, found complementary to conventional diplomacy or suppressed by Earth-based powers?

Some of the surprising  but necessary themes presented in this book (which endeavor to give a wide range of perspectives and information applicable to “Galactic Diplomacy”) include the diplomatic encounters with extraterrestrials that allegedly took place during the Eisenhower Administration, both in relation  to “First Encounters” with human-looking ETs (allegedly including planetary system-based “solarians,” and other extraterrestrials offering a spiritually-based, edification programs for humanity to subsequently/gradually be able to handle advanced technology and to integrate with a vast cosmic society responsibly). It also includes the “Secondary Encounters” typically with non-human or humanoid-looking ETs (which apparently suffer from complex physical and social-hierarchical problems even though offering technology in exchange for some negotiated benefits). I felt that Dr. Salla’s emphasis on circumstantial and testimonial evidence on the alleged Eisenhower encounters (like Bill Kirkling’s and Phil Schneider’s) is important but also left me feeling that some exopolitically significant events transpiring before his term of office (perhaps since the early 1940’s) should have also been mentioned.

Dr. Salla’s inevitably audacious book also offers a preliminary analysis of possible Military Industrial Extraterrestrial Complex (MIEC) ETs and of possible non-Military Industrial Extraterrestrial Complex ETs; evidence for human-looking ETs living among us; evidence of a program (called Galactic COINTELPRO) to discredit or suppress contactees. Furthermore, it deals with the (never implemented) 1978 UN resolution “33/426” to establish an agency for researching and informing about UFOs and related phenomena; presents exopolitical, citizen’s resolutions to deal with the ET presence in constructive ways (including the creation of an expected “code of conduct” for ETs) and even touches upon the possible role of “celestials” (higher entities with less physical limitations which should be studied because they are repeatedly mentioned in contactee literature) might play in the transition to a higher degree of human consciousness.

It may be the first time a book like this has been written. In fact, Dr. Salla’s book isn’t – by necessity –  just  pioneering and mind-expanding on such a unique but politically vital topic like “extraterrestrial contacts” and associated decision-making. Furthermore, it isn’t just sufficiently academic and ‘rational’ but also quite ‘reasonable’ since each chapter substantiates the aforesaid issues in a comprehensive and critical manner using – with an open and inclusive attitude – the varieties of evidence a sufficiently rational, sensible but normal “citizen of the world” (not overly encoded with a haughty academic skepticism) would consider.

Dr. Salla’s book shows us that one can be intellectually proficient even if evincing that sense-of- reality-challenging events indeed occur while a variety of otherworldly beings approach us with different vested interests. It shows us (unlike what other books in the UFO/ET contact phenomenon and its implications have shown) that – besides an exclusivist, disproportionate interest in particular aspects of human-ET relations (like the cover-up, technology and the contact-experiencer phenomenon) an earnestly INCLUSIVE analysis of the complex human-ET interaction (often combining subjective and objective types of evidence) it is not only possible but clearly necessary to understand the situation wholesomely to make informed political decisions soon to affect our collective fate. I think that implied in the book is the need for a critical but inclusive approach to coming to terms with a reality beckoning us to expand our physically limited sense of reality.

This book covers many areas of inquiry but also elicits additional questions. For instance, I do favor citizen’s diplomacy as it seems that particular benevolent ET species/races (allegedly the ones not predominantly negotiating with the Military Industrial Extraterrestrial Complex) even have indeed chosen to contact individuals attempting to share aspects of their particular “universalist” messages but, judging from how contactees every so often dismiss each other’s cases (or present their cases as central to human-ET contacts are we really able to definitely come together at once as a unified, planetary-wide group or only gradually?

As Dr. Salla also writes in chapter one “…a premium needs to be placed on maintaining a high level of integrity for this form of citizen based diplomacy. This will prevent undue manipulation by ‘unfriendly’ extraterrestrial races…”  Will this ‘integrity’ include thinking in connected, mature ways embracing all compatible contact experiences? Thus far, a main quality sought in contactees seems to have been a principled mind capable of assuming a ‘mission’ to at least attempt to re-transmit parts of an emancipating, educational message. This subjective feature probably entails a degree of post formal ethics for which ETs sufficiently esteem such persons as bona fide Earth representatives. However, perhaps efforts should also be coordinated under a supervising, integrally aware council embracing all vital political (Earth-based and extraterrestrial) needs. Will it be best if citizens’ diplomacy with non-MIEC ETs is coordinated with broad-minded, post-formal, ethical overseers (perhaps connected to the UN) similar to how MJ-12 allegedly oversees MIEC-ET diplomacy?

The book mentions benevolent “first contacts” occurring before the “grays” became popular. Furthermore, it mentions contacts with “intraterrestrials” (entities living in underground bases), with “solarians” (Solar System based ETs) and with other human-friendly, galactic neighbors. While I agree that these types of contacts occur (I have truthful friends who claim to have had such contacts), because of the gravitational pull we experience (requiring sufficient planetary mass), I don’t think they can possibly relate (as suggested) to beings living in an extensively hollow Earth but, rather, those who in enhanced cavities within the Earth’s crust. However, I found the evidence for human-looking “solarians” more compelling, since the presence of extraterrestrials like “Val Thor” and from the “Amicizia” contacts in Italy was supported by several witnesses and photographs.

By agreeing with Dr. Salla’s politically reasonable idea that by incorporating and cross-referencing a broad range of plausible information from contact experiencers, researchers, leaked government documents, whistleblowers (like Stewart Swerdlow, Robert Dean, Philip Corso, Dan Sherman) and more credible channelers (like Lyssa Royal and Norma Milanovich) we may basically recognize the existence of two main types of extraterrestrials (those allegedly cooperating more actively with the MIEC and those that not doing so).

Crucially, I think that one of the main strengths of the book is a reasonable search for overall patterns without excessive efforts to validate any one aspect. While not being scientifically undeniable (even if some details have been amply corroborated, for instance, by serious Ufology), it is politically sufficient and useful. It is a balanced search which can provide an informed assessment appropriate to a social science approach or to an intelligence information gathering suitable to human decision-making. Given the circumstances this is a good example to follow since – in order to advance informed exopolitical responses – whether specific appraisals are correct or not, we must first come to terms with the general patterns.

Readers interested in this book and in plausible exopolitical responses might be particularly pleased by some chapters alluding to various citizen resolutions in which UFO/ET cognizant/aware people from different countries and Dr. Salla were involved. Thus, we read about the 2006 “Hawaii Declaration on Peaceful Relations with Extraterrestrial Civilizations” which not just affirms “the intent of humanity to join in peaceful and cooperative relations with extraterrestrial civilizations” and “the natural right of all citizens to have open contact with representatives of extraterrestrial civilization in all cases and to engage in non-official diplomacy” but also to declare “the need for Civil Society to develop acceptable protocols (standards of behavior) with extraterrestrial civilizations, that the protocols should be representative of humanity, and that all nations should work in concert to establish peaceful relations.”

In other words, concerned individuals will find in this pioneering book that citizens with principled intentions have already come together attempting to plant the kernels for peaceful and constructive interactions with extraterrestrials. In fact, they’ll find that there have already been at least six citizen (international civilian) diplomatic initiatives and that the concepts of ecological balance and respect for all life have been central. One of them was the 2007 “Earth Transformation Declaration” which focused on taking personal responsibility for the transformative creation of a planetary civilization while recognizing interconnected health and wholeness and affirming the “political sovereignty and self-determination of humanity in relation to extraterrestrial civilizations,” besides the “promotion of new energy technologies to provide solutions to urgent global environmental and resource depletion issues” and  the protection of cetaceans as sentient, intelligent species.  Other important diplomatic initiatives were the 2009 “Declaration for the Creation of a European Agency to Study UFOs and Extraterrestrial Affairs,” the 2008 “Declaration for Citizen Contact Councils” (promoting the use of positive, international contact procedures), and the “Statement of Aspirations and Code of Conduct for Extraterrestrials Interacting with Earth” which outlined “standards (of conduct) extraterrestrials would need to observe” (something I very much agree with).

“Galactic Diplomacy: Getting to Yes with ET” showed me that it was possible to treat the complex and startling exopolitical situation with fairness, academic distinction and a form of reasonableness that includes an objective analysis and qualitative assessment suitable to a useful, normal and moral human standpoint. It succeeds in presenting a necessarily challenging overview of various unique categories that must be inclusively studied to practice exopolitics and to responsibly launch a new stage in real-world human-ET interacting with a vital and extraordinary political situation.

 [Note: Galactic Diplomacy: Getting to Yes with ET will be available in paperback and Kindle versions on June 16, 2013 at Amazon.com . Autographed copies are also available – click here.]