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

626 Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy
[my fortnightly summaries], anything derived from what was
known as “ultra” or “magic.” 26
Th e situation was further complicated by the fact that several
top military offi cials in Washington believed, or at least they so
testifi ed, that Hawaii was intercepting and decoding the Japanese
messages themselves and thus had access to the information
Washington offi cials were deriving from MAGIC. General
Miles, Military Intelligence (G-2), told Clausen that he believed
the Navy in Hawaii was decoding and translating Japanese diplomatic
and consular messages, although he later told the JCC that
General Short did not have decoding facilities. 27 And Admiral
Turner told the JCC that it was his “belief at that time, and it was
Admiral Stark’s belief, that all of these major diplomatic messages,
at least in the Pacifi c, were being decrypted by both Admiral Hart
[Manila] and by Admiral Kimmel [Pearl Harbor].” Turner said
he “did not know that Admiral Kimmel did not hold the code for
those dispatches until I was so informed at the time of the Navy
court of inquiry on Pearl Harbor.” 28
Although these top Washington offi cials testifi ed that they
believed Hawaii had access to the same information they had in
Washington, their actions belied their words. Th ey acted as if it was
their responsibility to keep Hawaii advised. On November 27 both
Army and Navy sent the Hawaiian commanders special dispatches
based on MAGIC intelligence then available in Washington. Th e
radiogram to Short read: “Negotiations with Japan appear to be
terminated.” 29 Th e dispatch to the Navy started out: “Th is dispatch
is to be considered a war warning.” 30 Army Chief of Staff Marshall
said in his affi davit for Clausen that he understood Short was
26Ibid., part 4, pp. 1731–32.
27Ibid., part 2, p. 791.
28Ibid., part 4, p. 1923.
29 Ibid., part 14, p. 1328, Army’s Dispatch #472.
30 Ibid., p. 1406, Navy’s November 27, 1941, “war warning” Dispatch #272337.