They didn't know about Pearl Harbor in advance though. They had cracked the diplomatic code, which only made clear that something was going to happen.
They knew, and if they didn't know, they were being wildly irresponsible.
FDR had been trying to provoke the Axis into getting into a war with the US for years. He started with Germany, intentionally violating war zones, and transporting military equipment; BUT the Germans saw that shit coming because Wilson used the Lusitania to get into WW1. (The Lusitania was also carrying weapons and violating a war zone restriction).
Not to mention, that FDR had ordered a US military ship to aggressively shadow and harass a IJN military ship until she was fired upon. The casualties were low, so that too wasn't enough to provoke the general public into a war effort, because the anti-war sentiment in the US was genuinely very strong.
Anyone who understood Japan knew full well that a war with the US was inevitable, and the Japanese certainly knew that they couldn't operate the way they were in the Pacific without provoking a war with the US. Hence why they chose a pre-emptive strike. They knew that they had no capacity to match the US's economic or military capability once it got going, and their only chance was a devastating first strike.
So one of the most heavily armed fleets Japan had ever set to anchor was assembling in Hittokapu Bay. The Americans had photographs of the fleet, it's composition, it's size, and then one day... poof! ... It was gone. All those carriers, and the US simply waited for it to re-appear. Didn't appear in China. Didn't appear in Guam. Didn't appear in Korea. Didn't appear in Indonesia. Didn't appear in Australia.
Gee? Now, where would one of the most heavily armed Japanese Strike Forces ever assembled have disappeared to all at once? If they can't be spotted after a few weeks, they must be in the "invisible ocean" where there's no land to launch patrol flights. But that's in the northern pacific! Japan's not at war with anybody out there! Why, the only thing within reach of that fleet would be the US base at Pearl Harbor where the entire Pacific Fleet is sitting idle and at anchor with relatively no protection, including our entire compliment of battleships and aircraft carri....
... oh ...
It's like saying, "this man with a gun and the balaclava isn't here to rob the bank, clearly he's just a 2nd Amendment advocate!"
Either the Roosevelt administration was criminally negligent to the point of needing to face criminal prosecution for the intelligence and military failures at Pearl Harbor (thank God for rare Japanese incompetence and stunning American luck, otherwise they might have actually had a chance at winning); or FDR knew about the attack and decided to just take it on the chin, assuming he wouldn't loose the entire pacific fleet, or that someone would have intercepted it on time. Wrong: again, in the 2nd bloodiest day in American history, we actually rolled 3 Natural 20's, and the Japs rolled a Natural 1.
As for JFK? Oswold shot him, that's actually super clear. LBJ just exploited the murder and turned it into a coup. There's a reason the biggest proponents of the JFK Assassination conspiracy theory are all former members of the Kennedy administration. When you read about what happened after the president died, it certainly looks like a coup. The focus on the shooting itself is actually classic deflection. Everyone's digging their heels into the initial crime scene, and not talking about the fucking fist fights that broke out in the White House when the VP staffers literally started throwing people out and taking their security clearances.
FDR had been trying to provoke the Axis into getting into a war with the US for years. He started with Germany, intentionally violating war zones, and transporting military equipment;
Correct. This is what made Germany (in WW2) conclude that America was a de facto belligerent and that declaring war would do no further harm to them.
Anyone who understood Japan knew full well that a war with the US was inevitable, and the Japanese certainly knew that they couldn't operate the way they were in the Pacific without provoking a war with the US. Hence why they chose a pre-emptive strike. They knew that they had no capacity to match the US's economic or military capability once it got going, and their only chance was a devastating first strike.
The US wasn't going to use aggression. That would have been politically impractical. It would just use economic sanctions in order to force Japan's hand. It's genius really. If you are the aggressor, your decision will always be second guessed. But if you trick the other side into attacking first, then you can paint yourself as innocence violated.
So one of the most heavily armed fleets Japan had ever set to anchor was assembling in Hittokapu Bay. The Americans had photographs of the fleet, it's composition, it's size, and then one day... poof! ... It was gone. All those carriers, and the US simply waited for it to re-appear. Didn't appear in China. Didn't appear in Guam. Didn't appear in Korea. Didn't appear in Indonesia. Didn't appear in Australia.
The Philippines were considered the most likely destination. In retrospect, Pearl Harbor may seem damn obvious, but hindsight is 20/20.
Either the Roosevelt administration was criminally negligent to the point of needing to face criminal prosecution for the intelligence and military failures at Pearl Harbor (thank God for rare Japanese incompetence and stunning American luck, otherwise they might have actually had a chance at winning);
Even the Japanese did not think that they had a chance to win. However, the oil embargo had made the situation so desperate that even a small chance was considered preferable to certain defeat.
As for JFK? Oswold shot him, that's actually super clear. LBJ just exploited the murder and turned it into a coup. There's a reason the biggest proponents of the JFK Assassination conspiracy theory are all former members of the Kennedy administration. When you read about what happened after the president died, it certainly looks like a coup. The focus on the shooting itself is actually classic deflection. Everyone's digging their heels into the initial crime scene, and not talking about the fucking fist fights that broke out in the White House when the VP staffers literally started throwing people out and taking their security clearances.
I would not be surprised, given LBJ's character (which is terrible for every politician, but he was a down and dirty streetfighter as well), I just haven't seen the evidence for it. In fact, any evidence. There are limits to cui bono.
The Philippines were considered the most likely destination. In retrospect, Pearl Harbor may seem damn obvious, but hindsight is 20/20.
I'm sticking with criminal negligence.
Even the Japanese did not think that they had a chance to win. However, the oil embargo had made the situation so desperate that even a small chance was considered preferable to certain defeat.
That's too pessimistic for the militarists. There were plenty of people who thought they could win in 1941, they just weren't everybody. Hell, there were still a lot of dangerous people who thought they could win in 1945.
That's too pessimistic for the militarists. There were plenty of people who thought they could win in 1941, they just weren't everybody. Hell, there were still a lot of dangerous people who thought they could win in 1945.
I'll defer to your knowledge of the Pacific War, since I'm mostly interested in the war in Europe, but as far as I know, no one in Japan believed they could 'win' in 1945 - especially by the metrics they set out. Even if the US was not able to conquer the home islands, losing your entire empire and not getting conquered is a far cry from 'winning'.
"win" as in "drive the Americans back strong enough that they would give up and not conquer the home islands" is kind of what they were going for as "winning".
Bit of a moving goalpost, as leftists are known to do.
They knew, and if they didn't know, they were being wildly irresponsible.
FDR had been trying to provoke the Axis into getting into a war with the US for years. He started with Germany, intentionally violating war zones, and transporting military equipment; BUT the Germans saw that shit coming because Wilson used the Lusitania to get into WW1. (The Lusitania was also carrying weapons and violating a war zone restriction).
Not to mention, that FDR had ordered a US military ship to aggressively shadow and harass a IJN military ship until she was fired upon. The casualties were low, so that too wasn't enough to provoke the general public into a war effort, because the anti-war sentiment in the US was genuinely very strong.
Anyone who understood Japan knew full well that a war with the US was inevitable, and the Japanese certainly knew that they couldn't operate the way they were in the Pacific without provoking a war with the US. Hence why they chose a pre-emptive strike. They knew that they had no capacity to match the US's economic or military capability once it got going, and their only chance was a devastating first strike.
So one of the most heavily armed fleets Japan had ever set to anchor was assembling in Hittokapu Bay. The Americans had photographs of the fleet, it's composition, it's size, and then one day... poof! ... It was gone. All those carriers, and the US simply waited for it to re-appear. Didn't appear in China. Didn't appear in Guam. Didn't appear in Korea. Didn't appear in Indonesia. Didn't appear in Australia.
Gee? Now, where would one of the most heavily armed Japanese Strike Forces ever assembled have disappeared to all at once? If they can't be spotted after a few weeks, they must be in the "invisible ocean" where there's no land to launch patrol flights. But that's in the northern pacific! Japan's not at war with anybody out there! Why, the only thing within reach of that fleet would be the US base at Pearl Harbor where the entire Pacific Fleet is sitting idle and at anchor with relatively no protection, including our entire compliment of battleships and aircraft carri....
... oh ...
It's like saying, "this man with a gun and the balaclava isn't here to rob the bank, clearly he's just a 2nd Amendment advocate!"
Either the Roosevelt administration was criminally negligent to the point of needing to face criminal prosecution for the intelligence and military failures at Pearl Harbor (thank God for rare Japanese incompetence and stunning American luck, otherwise they might have actually had a chance at winning); or FDR knew about the attack and decided to just take it on the chin, assuming he wouldn't loose the entire pacific fleet, or that someone would have intercepted it on time. Wrong: again, in the 2nd bloodiest day in American history, we actually rolled 3 Natural 20's, and the Japs rolled a Natural 1.
As for JFK? Oswold shot him, that's actually super clear. LBJ just exploited the murder and turned it into a coup. There's a reason the biggest proponents of the JFK Assassination conspiracy theory are all former members of the Kennedy administration. When you read about what happened after the president died, it certainly looks like a coup. The focus on the shooting itself is actually classic deflection. Everyone's digging their heels into the initial crime scene, and not talking about the fucking fist fights that broke out in the White House when the VP staffers literally started throwing people out and taking their security clearances.
Correct. This is what made Germany (in WW2) conclude that America was a de facto belligerent and that declaring war would do no further harm to them.
The US wasn't going to use aggression. That would have been politically impractical. It would just use economic sanctions in order to force Japan's hand. It's genius really. If you are the aggressor, your decision will always be second guessed. But if you trick the other side into attacking first, then you can paint yourself as innocence violated.
The Philippines were considered the most likely destination. In retrospect, Pearl Harbor may seem damn obvious, but hindsight is 20/20.
Even the Japanese did not think that they had a chance to win. However, the oil embargo had made the situation so desperate that even a small chance was considered preferable to certain defeat.
I would not be surprised, given LBJ's character (which is terrible for every politician, but he was a down and dirty streetfighter as well), I just haven't seen the evidence for it. In fact, any evidence. There are limits to cui bono.
I'm sticking with criminal negligence.
That's too pessimistic for the militarists. There were plenty of people who thought they could win in 1941, they just weren't everybody. Hell, there were still a lot of dangerous people who thought they could win in 1945.
I'll defer to your knowledge of the Pacific War, since I'm mostly interested in the war in Europe, but as far as I know, no one in Japan believed they could 'win' in 1945 - especially by the metrics they set out. Even if the US was not able to conquer the home islands, losing your entire empire and not getting conquered is a far cry from 'winning'.
"win" as in "drive the Americans back strong enough that they would give up and not conquer the home islands" is kind of what they were going for as "winning".
Bit of a moving goalpost, as leftists are known to do.