Fwd: Truth is the First Casualty of War

[Brad De Long]

>Is there anything to back up the rumour that FDR was aware of the Japanese
>plans for Pearl Harbour at least a day ahead of time - that he might have
>decided to trade some battleships and a couple of thousand fellas for a
>pretext to go in?  Is that why the carriers were not at their moorings that
>morning?  Is that story around, stateside?
>
>Yours in idle speculation,
>Rob.

The story's around. But it makes no sense. A surprise attack is a 
surprise attack whether it sinks seven battleships or is driven off 
with heavy losses to the attacking air squadrons: the political 
effect is the same.

It is true that the U.S. military and the White House thought a 
Japanese attack was not unlikely in December 1941. But if I recall 
correctly they were much more worried about large-scale 
sabotage--hence Clark Field in the Philippines, where the B-17s were 
parked wingtip-to-wingtip so that saboteurs could not get at them, 
making a perfect target for air attack...

Brad DeLong