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To: American Soldier
Have you not read Pat's statement that Roosevelt "cut off Japan's oil"?

Yes. It's in Republic not an Empire, and I actually agree with his argument, which I suspect you have not read since your account of it is highly characatured.

Up until late 1941, Japan was not doing anything to threaten us. They were, in fact, going out of their way to avoid conflict with us. They were targeting China as well as Dutch, French, and English colonies. FDR imposed an oil embargo in July 1941 in response to Japan's invasion of French Indochina.

This would have destroyed Japan since they had no oil reserves of their own, so the Japanese sent diplomats to Washington to get FDR to lift the embargo. They offered all kinds of concessions to FDR, including withdrawal form many places they invaded, including I believe French Indo-China. FDR refused to compromise. The Japanese concluded they could not avoid war with us, so they attacked.

This is not an anti-American analysis. It's an anti-FDR analysis, who I believe is the worst persident in history.

50 posted on 05/14/2003 2:06:20 PM PDT by traditionalist
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To: traditionalist
Up until late 1941, Japan was not doing anything to threaten us. They were, in fact, going out of their way to avoid conflict with us. They were targeting China as well as Dutch, French, and English colonies. FDR imposed an oil embargo in July 1941 in response to Japan's invasion of French Indochina.

This is a bizzare line of thinking to me. You're asking me to accept a role for America even more limp-wristed and namby-pamby than that which the leftists propose for us.

The one GOOD thing about FDR is that he distrusted the Japanese and saw their empire as a threat to our interests, which even Theodore Roosevelt had recognized at the turn of the century.

Again, FDR did not threaten to shoot anybody! We were a threat to the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, not Japan proper, and we were a logistical threat not a direct physical one. We were well within our rights to do so. As far as I'm concerned FDR should have demanded they withdraw from Okinawa -- they didn't even have any business being there.

The Pacific is ours. We should've taught the world that lesson earlier than we did, and more often than we have been doing. China will probably have to be instructed as well due to our legacy of half-measures.

51 posted on 05/14/2003 3:46:48 PM PDT by American Soldier
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To: traditionalist
Wow. Do you actually believe we should not have entered WWII? At what point would it been alright to enter - after all of Europe was enslaved by Germany? After Japan controlled all of asia?
55 posted on 05/16/2003 1:28:24 PM PDT by brownie (Reductio Ad Absurdum, or something like that . . .)
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