ULTIMA1 explains Pearl Harbor

[Corsair 115]

I think Roosevelt may well have intended to provoke the Japanese into attacking...

Considering that the U.S. felt it had made it clear to Japan that its continued occupation of China was unacceptable and was going to result in economic consequences (trade embargoes), I don't see how that can be termed provoking. Unless anytime a nation takes a stand against another nation's brutal invasion and occupation of a country it's considered provoking...

 

[JoeyDonuts]

I think Roosevelt may well have intended to provoke the Japanese into attacking, but I seriously doubt he knew when or where they were going to attack. He clearly believed that the U.S. needed to get involved in fighting the Nazis and Japanese, but prior to Pearl Harbor, there was a lot of opposition to that.

Hmmm...I thought he was rather isolationist until a couple thousand dead sailors forced him to do the only thing he could do.

 

[INRM]

I thought the LCDR McCollum Memo was conclusive proof that the US deliberately did a number of things to goad the Japanese into attacking us and then using that as an excuse to propel us into WW2.

Could be wrong.


INRM
BTW: Prior to the attack there were a lot of calls made into Hawaii asking people where the flat-tops were, were they in harbor and stuff, if I recall.