Treachery of Pearl Harbor Tragedy planned in Washington and Moscow, The Spotlight, December 7, 1981
by Thomas Jackson
It was nearly 9:30 pm Washington time on December 6, 1941, when Cmdr. L.R. Schultz delivered a top-secret to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his White House office. It was a Japanese diplomatic message, the first of 14 parts, which were to conclude with the formal instructions to break diplomatic relations in preparation for war. Roosevelt turned to his trusted friend Harry Hopkins and said “This means war.”
Yet, though the highest echelons of the government were aware of impending war, no warnings went out to American military bases to be on their guard. The very next morning, December 7, 2,800 American servicemen were to die for this “negligence.” To this day, notwithstanding the numerous books by historians and accounts by participants in the events surrounding America’s entry into World War II, many Americans believe Roosevelt’s version: that the bombing of Pearl Harbor was an unprovoked surprise attack.
