Quote:
Originally Posted by Circus
If the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour, lost terribly, and way less Americans died, the American public would still have supported a war.
I mean, it's ridiculous to suggest that Americans would have sat by passively saying "well, the japanese invaded with 6 carriers, dozens of battle ships, and hundreds of planes... but hell... only 500 Americans died. Lets give them a break. Hopefully the nice chaps have learned their lesson and won't do it again".
It's ridiculous on so many levels.
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Governments that commit great atrocities against their own people to goad them into war rely on the refusal of the population to believe their own government could be so nefarious. Yet history shows that such acts are a common occurrence. You need to get a book, "Day of Deceit" by US Navy Commander Robert Stinnett. Using documents declassified in 1994 he proves that not only did FDR know the Japanese were going to attack Pearl Harbor, but that he had
followed an 8-step plan by ONI Lt. Commander Arthur H. McCollum to goad Japan into the attack. What makes Stinnett's book an important one is that he agrees with what FDR did, which means his account of the deception is pretty well balanced with no ax to grind.
For those who have never studied the Pearl Harbor attack, the US Navy ordered the modern ships, over thirty in all, including all the carriers, out of Pearl Harbor the day before the Japanese showed up. Two explanations are given for this order. The first is that the carriers had to ferry a new air wing out to Midway island, the second (used in the film "Tora Tora Tora") that the carriers were being used as reconaissance ships. When the Japanese attack force arrived, all that was left in port were older WW1-vintage ships such as the USS Arizona and the USS Utah (which was so old it has already been converted from combat use to a gunnery training ship). In all, only three ships were actually lost to the Japanese attack. In contrast, the
Point Honda disaster saw 9 US Navy destroyers run aground and wrecked in a fog bank, but they don't make movies about that one.