Remembering Pearl Harbor

William H. Honan in “Remember Pearl Harbor, Then Put It Behind Us” (Commentary, Nov. 6) makes so many errors and misrepresentations that it is difficult to know where to begin. For brevity’s sake I shall address only the first of his many flawed arguments. Honan claims that the United States “had done much to provoke” the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, “including cutting off their supply of oil and high-octane aviation fuel the previous summer.” Nowhere does Honan explain why the U.S. cut off those supplies.

After annexing Korea in 1910 and invading Manchuria in 1931, Japan deserted the League of Nations, abandoned its agreements on naval limitations and violated its Pacific mandate by fortifying islands under its control. Then in 1937 Japan invaded China. It was the beginning of years of brutal slaughter and torture in China. Japan was intent on creating an empire that would include most of East Asia.

Meanwhile, President Roosevelt moved cautiously, remonstrating with the Japanese through diplomatic channels. Japan was unmoved, seeing Roosevelt’s reserve as evidence of our lack of resolve.

Then during the summer of 1940 Japan began the occupation of Indochina and the building of military airfields there. Only at this point did Roosevelt take any action: An embargo was placed on the export of strategic materials to Japan. Again, Japan was unmoved. Its aggression and savage brutality continued. In response Roosevelt froze all Japanese assets in the U.S.

However, Roosevelt made it clear that the U.S. would lift trade restrictions against Japan if it would withdraw from China. Gen. Hideki Tojo, Japan’s prime minister, regarded the offer with contempt. He was supremely confident that Japan could easily defeat the United States. By the fall of 1941 Tojo’s plans for war with the U.S. were already well in motion.

Far from provoking the Japanese, the United States, if anything, responded too slowly to a nation bent on aggression.

ROGER McGRATH

Thousand Oaks