Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy - Ludwig von Mises ...

420 Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy
Many facts that exonerated Kimmel and Short were revealed
in these closed-door hearings. Yet these facts were not made public.
At the end of 1944 Kimmel and Short were still the principal
culprits in the eyes of the public, their negligence considered
responsible for the extensive loss of ships, planes and men at Pearl
Harbor.
1944 was also a presidential election year. FDR was running
for an unprecedented fourth term. Th us political considerations,
as well as military, played a role in these investigations. How
should these secret reports be handled? What would the public
think if it knew the truth was being concealed? How would the
voters respond if they knew the facts that had been uncovered by
these investigations? What would they think of the top civilian
and military authorities, who were still directing the war eff ort,
if they learned from these reports about their pre-war decisions?
How much information could, or should, be made public? Th e
“top brass” in Washington faced a dilemma.