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

60 Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy
Communists from harassing their northern border. 20 On April 13,
1941, Japan signed a “neutrality pact” with Russia to safeguard
her position in the north and to make it possible for her to pursue
her plans southward. 21
U.S. War Planning with Britain
Secret U.S.-British staff conversations, held in Washington
from January 29 to March 27, 1941, led to an agreement on joint
strategy. (American offi cials had already met with British counterparts
in London in January 1938, before the war in Europe
began, and again in August 1940, after England was at war with
Germany.) Th e British sent naval and military offi cers as envoys,
attired in civilian dress to conceal the true nature of their mission.
Th e stated purpose of these secret ABC meetings (American-
British-Conversations) was “To coordinate, on broad lines, plans
for the employment of the forces of the Associated Powers” and
“To reach agreements concerning the methods and nature of
Military Cooperation between the two nations.” Th e agreements
were to cover the “principal areas of responsibility,” and “the
major lines of Military strategy to be pursued by both nations.” 22
20 Th e Japanese
“had four ends in view: to secure their Manchurian frontier with
the Soviet Union, thus enabling them to move southwards without
having to look over their shoulders; to obtain oil supplies and concessions
from the Netherlands East Indies by means other than the
use of force, thus making themselves less dependent on the United
States; to obtain complete control of Indo-China, so as to be able to
occupy, at an appropriate moment, Siamese territory as a base from
which to mount an attack on Malaya, and to prevent the United
States either from entering the war on the side of Britain or interfering
with their own plans for their southward advance.” (Kirby, Th e
War Against Japan, p. 59)
21 Ibid., p. 61.
2279th Cong., 1st sess. Joint (Congressional) Committee on the Investigation
of the Pearl Harbor Attack. Pearl Harbor Attack, 39 vols. (Washington, D.C.: