Right...but as discussed in the book, if it were a feint...it simply would have been useless due to the transit time from Peal Harbor. They would have had to have the Aleutian operation scheduled much earlier than it was to have had the desired effect of attracting any American naval attention.
At least that is how I recall it was explained...it has been a few years, so I could be mistaken.
I agree. They just hurt themselves with it. But, bear in mind, after all the success of the previous years, the Japanese had ‘victory fever’ and couldn’t wait for their next conquest. It led to some serious over-reaching. The supply line to the Aleutians would be an exercise in vulnerability.
“Do something, even if it’s wrong,” comes to mind.
And the Doolittle Raids had a lot to do with that.