Post by Steve Gardner on Mar 23, 2008 10:49:20 GMT
On October 7 1940, Lieutenant Commander Arthur McCollum submitted a memorandum to Captains Walter Anderson and Dudley Knox, two of President Roosevelt's most trusted military advisors.
The memorandum set out an 8-step plan to provoke Japan into attacking the US. Throughout 1941, Roosevelt implemented all 8 of those recommendations, at which point Japan attacked. The American public was told - and believed - the attack came as a surprise. It was sufficient to swing public opinion, which had been firmly against US entry into WWII, in favour of US military intervention.
Here is a copy of McCollum's memorandum, including what many consider to be the 'smoking gun' proof (underlined in red on page 4) that Roosevelt effectively engineered Japan into carrying out the attack.
The memorandum set out an 8-step plan to provoke Japan into attacking the US. Throughout 1941, Roosevelt implemented all 8 of those recommendations, at which point Japan attacked. The American public was told - and believed - the attack came as a surprise. It was sufficient to swing public opinion, which had been firmly against US entry into WWII, in favour of US military intervention.
Here is a copy of McCollum's memorandum, including what many consider to be the 'smoking gun' proof (underlined in red on page 4) that Roosevelt effectively engineered Japan into carrying out the attack.
10. If by [implementing these measures] Japan could be led to commit an overt act of war, so much the better.
