Intelligence Pearl Harbor: Final Judgement Term Paper

Intelligence

Pearl Harbor: Final Judgement

Pearl Harbor: Final Judgement by Henry C. Clausen and Bruce Lee is the true story of a detailed investigation into the Pearl Harbor bombing on Dec. 7, 1941. Henry C. Clausen was the young lawyer chosen to investigate the attack and the intelligence leading up to it. This book is his conclusion, 50 years later, to the Top Secret report he compiled. The report was never made public.

Clausen debunks the many conspiracy theories that still abound concerning Pearl Harbor by recounting his own experience investigating the roots of the surprise attack and why American intelligence did not pick it up. Instead, Clausen depicts a convoluted and often inefficient military system that did not work with other agencies well, was unorganized and often lacksidaisical about intelligence and management, and was often more concerned with personal rather than military matters. For example, the general in charge of the Hawaiian Department, General Short, placed an inexperienced man in the G-2 (Intelligence) position in his command, because the man was a good dancer, and when General Short was busy, the man's duties included squiring Mrs. Short to military dances. The book is riddled with anecdotes such as these that indicate the military was ill prepared for a surprise attack, and in fact were arrogant in their ignorance.

In fact, Clausen's investigation showed the American military knew Japanese codes but ignored them in seeking intelligence; the agencies were unprepared for war or a surprise attack. As the author notes, "Although vested with high commands and responsibilities, they were surprised by the attack. They were unprepared for war. Thus, they were really guilty of criminal neglect of duty" (Clausen & Lee, 1992, p. 228). There was little joint action between the services during and after the attack, and that had a midnight message been decoded, it might have prevented the attack. In short, Pearl Harbor was a series of bungles that resulted in the most horrific naval losses the U.S. has ever endured.

References

Clausen, H.C. And Lee, B. (1992). Pearl Harbor: Final Judgement. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc.

Cite this Document:

"Intelligence Pearl Harbor Final Judgement" (2007, May 24) Retrieved April 19, 2024, from
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/intelligence-pearl-harbor-final-judgement-37560

"Intelligence Pearl Harbor Final Judgement" 24 May 2007. Web.19 April. 2024. <
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/intelligence-pearl-harbor-final-judgement-37560>

"Intelligence Pearl Harbor Final Judgement", 24 May 2007, Accessed.19 April. 2024,
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/intelligence-pearl-harbor-final-judgement-37560

Related Documents

Attacks on Pearl Harbor and the World Trade Center had similar historical events surrounding each attack. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and George W. Bush used similar policies to combat further attacks and unite the nation The paper highlights the entwined American reactions to the September 11 attacks and the Pearl Harbor attacks. The paper illustrates the similarities in which the over-prevailing backgrounds of each event created reactions to the devastating measures that

Apparently, Helms was too hot to handle." 11 A another public figure obviously annoyed at government's failure to successfully try the intelligence director said: "Rather than using a court trial to press for full disclosure... The administration has decided to contain the story and manage it under the tired excuse of national security." 12 U.S. District Judge Barrington Parker however refused to accept any prearranged plea-bargain and a trial

Video Games Have for a
PAGES 33 WORDS 9936

Dopamine is a pleasure inducing chemical that is secreted whenever an individual engages his/her mind in the playing f video games. The New brain research that was conducted years back (Bartholow, Bushman & Sestir, 2006) was the first to show that the playing of violent video games results in bad health of the players. The emphatic responses of the brain to the simulation of certain real-life violence such as shooting

U.S. Foreign Policy: Pre and
PAGES 10 WORDS 4171

A long passage is quoted here by way of showing what all these various writers are concerned about: (Kane, 2003)May 2002 brought the odd spectacle of ex-President Jimmy Carter standing shoulder to shoulder in Havana with one of the U.S. government's oldest enemies, Cuban president Fidel Castro. Carter, on a mission to convey a message of friendship to the Cuban people and to seek some common ground between Cuba

Decision Making Strategies Within any organization or process, there is the cognitive and purposeful role of decision making that is the result of taking in stimuli, choosing from alternatives, and making a final choice of an action, in action, or choice of action. This is true in the small business world, multinational corporations, individual life, and even with governments. It impacts Foreign Policy, trade, economics, and most certainly the idea of

U.S. Policy and the War on Terror: An Ineffective Strategy Since 9/11 the U.S. government has pursued a policy of combating terrorism with all of its resources (intelligence, technology, military, economic sanctions, etc.). However, the question remains, nearly a decade and a half later, with terror attacks occurring more and more frequently around the world, whether the U.S. has been effective in its countering of terrorism. According to various studies, it