JE Corbett
2023-12-07 18:22:52 UTC
For those who might have forgotten, today is the 82nd anniversary of the
attack on Pearl Harbor. As is their custom, the History Channel is running
a series of documentaries about the attack which I have recorded. I just
finished watching the first one which examines a conspiracy theory that
FDR knew the attack on Pearl was coming and allowed it to happen to gain
public support for the US entering WWII. The program started off by raising
that question without actually stating that to be the case.
The main thrust of the program was that Admiral Kimmel and General Short
were made the scapegoats for a series of miscommunications and outright
blunders the prevented the two commanders from being prepared for an
attack. That much I believe and that is widely accepted. One thing I learned
was that immediately following the attack. FDR appointed a commission to
investigate what went wrong, headed by Chief Justice Stone. Sound familiar?
The commission found both Kimmel and Short had been derelict in their
duty and both were relieved of their commands.
The rest of the program was spent detailing the miscommunications and
blunders that took place leading up to the tragic attack and how it could
have been prevented had the commanders in Hawaii been made aware of
the intelligence prior to the attack. The program was first aired in 2016 and
almost none of it was new information. It was all covered in the 1970 movie
Tora, Tora, Tora.
In the end, the documentary came clean and acknowledged that there is no
evidence than FDR nor anyone else knew an attack on Pearl Harbor was
imminent, that it is all speculation. We knew they were going to attack us
somewhere but the belief was that they would strike somewhere in the western Pacific, possibly the Phillipines or Guam. It noted that the US
Senate passed a resolution absolving Kimmel of blame for the attack but
that no US President has issued an order exonerating Kimmel and restoring
his four star rank. It ended with a curious quote from then Vice-President
Joe Biden stating that the treatment of Kimmel was the greatest injustice in
American military history. I have been able to find nothing to indicate that
during his time as President, Biden has done anything to remedy that injustice.
attack on Pearl Harbor. As is their custom, the History Channel is running
a series of documentaries about the attack which I have recorded. I just
finished watching the first one which examines a conspiracy theory that
FDR knew the attack on Pearl was coming and allowed it to happen to gain
public support for the US entering WWII. The program started off by raising
that question without actually stating that to be the case.
The main thrust of the program was that Admiral Kimmel and General Short
were made the scapegoats for a series of miscommunications and outright
blunders the prevented the two commanders from being prepared for an
attack. That much I believe and that is widely accepted. One thing I learned
was that immediately following the attack. FDR appointed a commission to
investigate what went wrong, headed by Chief Justice Stone. Sound familiar?
The commission found both Kimmel and Short had been derelict in their
duty and both were relieved of their commands.
The rest of the program was spent detailing the miscommunications and
blunders that took place leading up to the tragic attack and how it could
have been prevented had the commanders in Hawaii been made aware of
the intelligence prior to the attack. The program was first aired in 2016 and
almost none of it was new information. It was all covered in the 1970 movie
Tora, Tora, Tora.
In the end, the documentary came clean and acknowledged that there is no
evidence than FDR nor anyone else knew an attack on Pearl Harbor was
imminent, that it is all speculation. We knew they were going to attack us
somewhere but the belief was that they would strike somewhere in the western Pacific, possibly the Phillipines or Guam. It noted that the US
Senate passed a resolution absolving Kimmel of blame for the attack but
that no US President has issued an order exonerating Kimmel and restoring
his four star rank. It ended with a curious quote from then Vice-President
Joe Biden stating that the treatment of Kimmel was the greatest injustice in
American military history. I have been able to find nothing to indicate that
during his time as President, Biden has done anything to remedy that injustice.