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From: desj@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (David desJardins)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers,talk.politics.misc
Subject: Re: AWACS and Pearl Harbour.
Message-ID: <15779@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Tue, 23-Sep-86 21:06:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.15779
Posted: Tue Sep 23 21:06:08 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 24-Sep-86 02:59:21 EDT
References: <3399@caip.RUTGERS.EDU> <434@inuxm.UUCP>
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Reply-To: desj@brahms.UUCP (David desJardins)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
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Xref: mnetor net.sf-lovers:8668 talk.politics.misc:275

In article <434@inuxm.UUCP> arlan@inuxm.UUCP (A Andrews) writes:
>[...]  (The Colonel also told us that the evidence was strong that he and
>his buddies and the whole fleet had been set up for the surprise attack,
>so that Roosevelt could get us into the war.  So much for another Democrat
>Party hero.

   How unheard of -- the armed forces blaming politicians instead of
accepting responsibility for their mistakes!  I have read extensively on
this subject, with no particular preconceptions, and I have seen nothing
that would make me believe that Roosevelt knew exactly when the Japanese
would attack, or that their fleet was sailing toward Pearl Harbor.  Or
that the Japanese had developed modifications to their torpedoes which
would allow them to be used against ships at Pearl (which the military
considered essentially invulnerable).

   -- David desJardins

P.S. There is a huge difference between an early experimental radar, which
might have shown a featureless blur at a range of 50 miles or so, and an
E-3 AWACS which would identify each and every plane at a substantially
greater distance.  It is true, however, that it is not clear how much
would have been gained by the advance warning.  Certainly substantially
greater damage to the Japanese planes, and reduced American casualties,
but probably still a Japanese victory.