London: The US was warned of the Japanese
"surprise" attack on Pearl Harbour which propelled Washington
to join World War II and changed the course of history, a
de-classified memorandum has revealed.
The then US President Franklin D. Roosevelt described the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, as "a
date that will live in infamy", a day on which the slaughter
of 2,400 troops drew America into the Second World War.
Now, on the 70th anniversary of Japan`s devastating
bombardment of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii,
the memorandum showed that President Roosevelt was warned
three days before the attack that the Japanese empire was
eyeing up Hawaii with a view to "open conflict".
The information, contained in a de-classified memorandum
from the Office of Naval Intelligence, only adds to proof that
Washington dismissed red flags signalling that mass bloodshed
was looming and war was imminent, `The Sunday Telegraph` said.
"In anticipation of possible open conflict with this
country, Japan is vigorously utilizing every available agency
to secure military, naval and commercial information, paying
particular attention to the West Coast, the Panama Canal and
the Territory of Hawaii," the 26-page memo said.
Dated December 4, 1941, marked as confidential, and
entitled "Japanese intelligence and propaganda in the United
States", it flagged up Japan`s surveillance of Hawaii under a
section headlined "Methods of Operation and Points of Attack".
It noted details of possible subversives in Hawaii, where
nearly 40 per cent of inhabitants were of Japanese origin, and
how Japanese consulates on the US`s west coast were gathering
information on American naval and air forces.
Japan`s Naval Inspector`s Office was "primarily
interested in obtaining detailed technical information which
could be used to advantage by the Japanese Navy", it stated.
"Much information of a military and naval nature has been
obtained," it stated, describing it as being "of a general
nature", but including records relating to the movement of US
warships.
PTI
