Bill Sykes' Newsletter from America.
(January 2002)
An ex-Brit gives his views-(without fear
or favor)---of the American Scene
Long ago and far away....
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
 The
sixtieth Anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
On the 7th of December 1941 the Japanese attacked the
United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and
approximately 3,000 American Naval and Military personnel
were killed or wounded.
The American Government and its Military Forces have
always maintained that they were completely taken by surprise,
but this has been challenged by many sources.
Of the eight American battleships in Harbor, four were
sunk and the rest were severely damaged.
Three destroyers were sunk and three light cruisers damaged.
One hundred and sixty American aircraft were destroyed
and a further one hundred and twenty eight aircraft were
severely disabled.
Note: Several American aircraft carriers, and
seven heavy cruisers were not present in Pearl Harbor
at the time of the attack. (Amazing coincidence or conservation
of naval power). !!!
Comparisons have been made between the Trade Center/Pentagon
terrorist action of the eleventh of September 2001, and
the Pearl Harbor incident.
I would suggest that the only real comparison is that
the United States were forewarned on both occasions, whether
they like to admit it or not, and did not take the necessary
action to try to avoid the occurrences and the terrible
consequences.
Some background information on the events leading
up to the attack.
 In
July of 1941, Japan established a protectorate over all
of Indo China. President Roosevelt extends a trade embargo
against Japan cutting off all oil exports, (does this
sound familiar in today’s world), in order to inflict
a severe blow to Japanese expansion plans.
The Japanese explore a number of options, one of which
was to launch an attack on foreign possessions in the
Far East, which would include an attack on the Philippines
and the US Pacific Fleet.
Attempts by the Japanese to negotiate are rebuffed by
the Americans, who are fully aware that the Japanese are
actively preparing for war if their proposals are rejected.
So, was it pure arrogance on the part of the American
Government and it’s Pacific Fleet Commanders, on
the basis that “The Japanese wouldn’t dare attack
Pearl Harbor”, which would cause such a tremendous
loss of life and Naval equipment. !!!
As President Roosevelt stated, “This will be
a day that will live in infamy”, and the United
States declared war upon Japan.
 The
President convened a court of enquiry to determine whether
negligence contributed to the success of the Japanese
attack.
The commission found Rear Admiral Hisband E. Kimmel and
Major General Walter C. Short guilty of “dereliction
of duty” and “errors of judgment”.
The two officers were subsequently retired.
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Long
Ago And Far Away - Pearl Harbor
