[GeronL]

Soner or later the Japanese or the Germans would have done it. We knew we would be drawn in eventually, it was no secret. No one knew when or where any attack would happen, they didn’t think Japan even had the ability to project force all the way to Hawaii apparently.

[BatGuano]

I can't agree with “no one knew where or when”. We knew that Japan had the carrier forces to attack Hawaii and had broken their code, The whereabouts of the Japanese carrier force was unknown, which should have put us on a heightened alert but FDR, Marshall, et al. were welcoming an attack. FDR was truly upset when he gave his “day of infamy” speech because he didn't think that the attack would cripple us so.
He was rarely double crossed and was pissed off! It was FDR's saying, “In politics, nothing happens by accident”.

Read “At Dawn We Slept”, the commission blamed the Army and the Navy (Admirals and Generals are expendable)but never even mentioned the White House. My guess is that it was a set up to put the blame in Hawaii.

[fso301]

Soner or later the Japanese or the Germans would have done it. We knew we would be drawn in eventually, it was no secret. No one knew when or where any attack would happen, they didn’t think Japan even had the ability to project force all the way to Hawaii apparently.

Too bad it couldn't have been for another year. That might have allowed enough time for the Germans and Russians to bleed each other white.