Posted on 12/10/2001 9:08:50 PM PST by ouroboros
Of all the days that will "live in infamy" in American history, two stand out: Sept. 11, 2001, and Dec. 7, 1941.
But why did Japan, with a 10th of our industrial power, launch a sneak attack on the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, an act of state terror that must ignite a war to the death it could not win? Were they insane? No, the Japanese were desperate.
To understand why Japan lashed out, we must go back to World War I. Japan had been our ally. But when she tried to collect her share of the booty at Versailles, she ran into an obdurate Woodrow Wilson.
Wilson rejected Japan's claim to German concessions in Shantung, home of Confucius, which Japan had captured at a price in blood. Tokyo threatened a walkout if denied what she had been promised by the British. "They are not bluffing," warned Wilson, as he capitulated. "We gave them what they should not have."
In 1921, at the Washington Naval Conference, the United States pressured the British to end their 20-year alliance with Japan. By appeasing the Americans, the British enraged and alienated a proud nation that had been a loyal friend.
Japan was now isolated, with Stalin's brooding empire to the north, a rising China to the east and, to the south, Western imperial powers that detested and distrusted her.
When civil war broke out in China, Japan in 1931 occupied Manchuria as a buffer state. This was the way the Europeans had collected their empires. Yet, the West was "shocked, shocked" that Japan would embark upon a course of "aggression." Said one Japanese diplomat, "Just when we learn how to play poker, they change the game to bridge."
Japan now decided to create in China what the British had in India – a vast colony to exploit that would place her among the world powers. In 1937, after a clash at Marco Polo Bridge near Peking, Japan invaded and, after four years of fighting, including the horrific Rape of Nanking, Japan controlled the coastal cities, but not the interior.
When France capitulated in June 1940, Japan moved into northern French Indochina. And though the United States had no interest there, we imposed an embargo on steel and scrap metal. After Hitler invaded Russia in June 1941, Japan moved into southern Indochina. FDR ordered all Japanese assets frozen.
But FDR did not want to cut off oil. As he told his Cabinet on July 18, an embargo meant war, for that would force oil-starved Japan to seize the oil fields of the Dutch East Indies. But a State Department lawyer named Dean Acheson drew up the sanctions in such a way as to block any Japanese purchases of U.S. oil. By the time FDR found out, in September, he could not back down.
Tokyo was now split between a War Party and a Peace Party, with the latter in power. Prime Minister Konoye called in Ambassador Joseph Grew and secretly offered to meet FDR in Juneau or anywhere in the Pacific. According to Grew, Konoye was willing to give up Indochina and China, except a buffer region in the north to protect her from Stalin, in return for the U.S. brokering a peace with China and opening up the oil pipeline. Konoye told Grew that Emperor Hirohito knew of his initiative and was ready to give the order for Japan's retreat.
Fearful of a "second Munich," America spurned the offer. Konoye fell from power and was replaced by Hideki Tojo. Still, war was not inevitable. U.S. diplomats prepared to offer Japan a "modus vivendi." If Japan withdrew from southern Indochina, the United States would partially lift the oil embargo. But Chiang Kai-shek became "hysterical," and his American adviser, one Owen Lattimore, intervened to abort the proposal.
Facing a choice between death of the empire or fighting for its life, Japan decided to seize the oil fields of the Indies. And the only force capable of interfering was the U.S. fleet that FDR had conveniently moved from San Diego out to Honolulu.
And so Japan attacked. And so she was crushed and forced out of Vietnam, out of China, out of Manchuria. And so they fell to Stalin, Mao and Ho Chi Minh. And so it was that American boys, not Japanese boys, would die fighting Koreans, Chinese and Vietnamese to try to block the aggressions of a barbaric Asian communism.
Now Japan is disarmed and China is an Asian giant whose military boasts of pushing the Americans back across the Pacific. Had FDR met Prince Konoye, there might have been no Pearl Harbor, no Pacific war, no Hiroshima, no Nagasaki, no Korea, no Vietnam. How many of our fathers and uncles, brothers and friends, might still be alive?
"For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: 'It might have been.'" A few thoughts as the War Party pounds the drum for an all-out American war on Iraq and radical Islam.
Patrick J. Buchanan was twice a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination and the Reform Party’s candidate in 2000. Now a commentator and columnist, he served three presidents in the White House, was a founding panelist of three national televison shows, and is the author of six books. His current position is chairman of The American Cause. His newest book, "Death of the West," will be published in January.
Of course I could be wrong.
Japan is not disarmed. The SDF is probably the most modern armed forces in all of East Asia. While they may be numerically inferior to the PRC, according to Jane's, Japan is slated to spend over US$200 billion on defense in the next five years. By comparison, China spends around US$20 billion a year, though perhaps more "under the table."
Ain't hindsight wonderful? Pat's rhetoric is always catchy, with his new phrase the "War Party" emerging as his latest hook. If he was as good at REAL politics, as he is at writing, he himself could sit in the seats of power.
For the sake of accuracy, it looks like the Bush administration will press Iraq to honor the 1991 Cease Fire terms, and allow WMD inspectors to again do their jobs. Would Pat Buchanan have the world just let Saddam continue with WMD, until he uses them?
"To understand why Japan lashed out, we must go back to World War I. Japan had been our ally. But when she tried to collect her share of the booty at Versailles, she ran into an obdurate Woodrow Wilson. Wilson rejected Japan's claim to German concessions in Shantung, home of Confucius, which Japan had captured at a price in blood... By appeasing the Americans, the British enraged and alienated a proud nation that had been a loyal friend."
To paraphrase, Japan won land by right of conquest, and Britain honored that right of its loyal ally. But this offended delicate American sensibilities, and so we pressured Britain to sever its relationship with Japan, then pressured (and ultimately went to war with) Japan in order to reverse that conquest. This was a mistake and led to all kinds of grief, since Japan had in fact been acting as a pro-Western counter to the virulent anti-Western forces in the region.
Now, compare that to the situation in Israel: Israel won land by right of conquest, and the U.S. has honored that right of its loyal ally. But this offends delicate European sensibilities, and so the EU is pressuring us to sever our relationship with Israel. Clearly Buchanan believes that this will lead to a war between the EU and Israel, a war which he belives will be a mistake and lead to all kinds of grief, since Israel is in fact acting as a pro-Western counter to the virulent anti-Western forces in the region. So the moral of the story is that we should continue to back Israel, no matter how much our allies across the Atlantic pressure us to do otherwise.
It's obvious, really. I'm just surprised to see Buchanan make such an about-face from his usual position on the Middle East.
Sage analysis and more importantly, a thought-provoking condemnation of the pro-Communist leanings of FDR!
Otherwise, not a shabby analysis.
Wilson rejected Japan's claim to German concessions in Shantung, home of Confucius, which Japan had captured at a price in blood.
Pardon my French, but Pat Buchanan is now just about the world's most insufferable dumbass. The above is impossibly stupid, umless Buchanan is channeling the ghost of Tojo.
Let's review:
British WW I dead: 908,371 wounded: 2,090,212
US WW I dead: 50,585 wounded: 205,690
JAPANESE WW I dead: 300 wounded: 907
"Price in blood" my ass, Pat. Yeah, the Japanese really suffered as our WW I ally.
And the US took NO territory from ANYONE, mind you, in WW I.
But the Japanese, at the cost of 300 dead, took from Germany, the Marshall, Mariana, Palau, and Caroline Islands, covering an immense area. In terms of surface area of the globe, I suspect the Japanese got control of MORE area than anyone else in WWI.
The US spent most of the Pacific War in bloody fighting to capture heavily fortified Islands the Japanese took from Germany in WW I....Tarawa, Pelileu, etc.
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