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Not to mention the need to PROVOKE the largely isolationist American people to get into the war against the Axis powers to save the Brits AND their lucrative opium trade in their remaining Chinese colonies after the rape of Nanking.

And John Toland and others have documented that FDR and his people had advance warning of the Japanese fleets move toward Pearl and failed to alert Kimmel and Short, leaving them open for the attack. Both men were hung out to dry in the aftermath.

My jury is still out on the “wisdom” of all of that, a sentiment NOT shared, I’m sure, by the families of those killed at Pearl and beyond. But, as the politicians crudely say to themselves, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. And to take the position that the Japanese were not provoked is to ignore not only the history of how to get a nation into a war but the specific 411 surrounding our entry into WWII. And there was a bit of documentation that a number of US firms continued doing business with Hitler and many of their German based facilities were off-limits to our bombers.

When I was in the service during the early run up to Vietnam, some of my more knowledgeable and cynical comrades often uttered this phrase: “War IS good for business. Invest your sons.”

All of that said, looking at the mess in the world today, can anyone say that it would look much different had we stayed home after 1941?

Attack me for this if you will. Bracing for impact.