Pearl+Harbor+Group+2


 * __=__ __//What part did military and higher officials play in ignoring the mounting evidence of an impending attack?//__**

As we all know, the United States did not get involved in World War ll right away. There needed to be some sort of event that angered the people of the United States, and something along the lines of Pearl Harbor would definitely do the trick. Many people today have the opinion that President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor as an excuse to enter his nation into the war. Morton A. Kaplan is a distinguished service professor of political science at the University of Chicago and is also the editor and publisher of the website "The World & I." On this website Kaplan talks about the conspiracy of FDR and the Japanese bombing. There are also some arguments made that Roosevelt put a fleet of ships at Pearl Harbor on purpose to be sunken by the Japanese. Geocities.com provides the argument that Roosevelt blinded the commanders at Pearl Harbor and set them up by denying intelligence to Hawaii, and misleading commanders into thinking negotiations with Japan were still continuing to prevent them from realizing the war was on. Also, some say FDR sent false information to Hawaii about the location of the Japanese carrier fleet. The book "The American Age" by Walter LaFeber talks about Roosevelt's schemes before the bombing. It says Roosevelt secretly placed US ships in places where incidents could push Americans into war. He misled the American people about his actions. He also allowed the FBI to break the law by wire tapping phones and opening mail that was suspected of being affiliated with Axis powers. The military intercepted Japanese codes, and kept them a secret to all but the President. Also, if the thoughts of this conspiracy really are true, the military most likely had a big part to do with it. If the president knew that Japan was going to bomb Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the military would have been informed and told not to do anything in response or in preparation for a bombing. The military played a vital role in the Pearl Harbor bombing, as did higher officials such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Japanese commanders.

Response: (Gary) Well, from what I've researched, the United States DID have an idea of an attack on the United States, but not where or when. Also, why would FDR place a fleet at Pearl Harbor but not have any Aircraft Carriers? And also, the United States could have deployed forces against Japan BEFORE Pearl Harbor to go to war, why wait to have most of the fleet wiped out to fight Japan?

response: (mick)- I do believe that we had to have known about the bombing of pearl harbor. When we had done our research we had found that the US had picked up on the planes lying in and we had ignored the sight. I do not agree that president Rossovelt had put the ships into the bay knowing that the area would have been sunk. He was one of the greatly known presidents and he would have not done that. I also do agree that we could have done more to prevent it, and we really wanted to enter the war.