American text books will usually describe the attack as a "sneak" or surprise attack. The first description plays into the ethnic depiction of Asians as sneaky and untrustworthy. Nevertheless, it also shows the danger of making decisions in a vacuum or without considering capabilities of opposing forces. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration took as WWII approached a series of actions designed to keep the natural resources required for waging war: rubber, oil, and iron.
Japan, as an island nation, needed to import all resources necessary for war and viewed the actions of FDR as tantamount to a declaration of war. So when the US ceased oil and gasoline exports to Japan in July 1941. This and US refusal to meet diplomatic terms led the Japanese led to the Japanese fleet setting sail towards Hawaii. Save for the fact American aircraft carriers had already sailed out on maneuvers, the Japanese might have won a strategic as well tactical victory.
By the same token, modern US leaders like President Dump overestimate the reach of American power and underestimate the possibility of adverse consequences known as "blowback") (Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire .) Thus. moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem paints a target on every Americans' back across the world: bases, embassies, ships, and civilians.
No comments:
Post a Comment