Just finished reading George Victor – The Pearl Harbor myth : rethinking the unthinkable
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, having returned to Pearl Harbour after over 30 years. Seeing the oil rising from the rusting hull of the Arizona was a chilling reminder of the events that unfolded there in December 1941. My father James was in the Royal Navy in the Pacific and thankfully escaped the fate of those unfortunate seamen.
For my part I think the evidence that Mr Victor puts forward is overwhelming when considered together. President Roosevelt and his War Cabinet must have known an attack was to take place, and exactly when and how it would occur.
The author concludes:
“Whether intentionally or not, Roosevelt exposed the fleet to a Japanese attack by stationing it in Hawaii. Then he intentionally used naval units as lures by ordering them on various expeditions in the Pacific. Withholding key information from Kimmel and Short increased the fleet’s exposure greatly and it was most glaringly increased by not sending a warning on December 6, 1941.”
I can accept using the Pacific Fleet as a bait might have been a legitimate strategy but leaving his local commanders Short and Kimmel in the dark and deliberately deceiving them as to the situation cannot be easily justified, nor can allowing the fleet and Air Force to be so unprepared for the air attack. The crew of the Arizona and others deserved more than that.
