Hello Mike,

>>I agree with most of your post, but I have to point out that Hitler
>>declared war on the US on Dec 11, 1941.  Hitler was also sinking US ships
>>that were carrying supplies to Britain.
>
>True but, if the US had also not been involved in WWI, I am wondering if
>the attitude towards the US would have been different.  Germany was
>destroyed by the concessions they made during their WWI surrender.  To an
>extent, I feel like they were out for revenge against all of the countries
>that put them in that position.
>
>Still, with the U-boats patrolling the whole North Atlantic (and likely,
>the Gulf of Mexico), conflict of some degree was inevitable, as you noted
>below.

There is a sunken German U-boat just off the coast of Grand Isle,
Louisiana.  I was invited to take part in a scuba expedition to try
to salvage parts.  But the German government stopped us from doing
so, claiming it was protected by international law, being a gravesite
for those who had perished.  Whether there was gold bullion inside
or not, we never were able to find out ...

>>Note that Roosevelt minor had the US Navy involved in World War II long
>>before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.  The "Greer Incident," where
>>the US destroyer Greer was fired on by a U-Boat, occurred because the
>>Greer had detected the U-Boat and radioed for British aircraft (from
>>Canada) to come and bomb it.  The U-Boat captain had no idea who'd
>>dropped the bomb/depth charges and the only ship around was the Greer.
>>This sort of thing was quite common in 1940-1941
>
>The US was also secretly involved supporting China against Japan long
>before Pearl Harbor.  WWII actually started in 1937 when Japan escalated
>their aggressions against China by invading Shanghai and other areas.  The
> US supported China with supplies and, I believe, volunteers (like The
> Flying Tigers).

Unfortunately, the US supported the wrong China, refusing to
recognize the other China as legitimate.  It took Jimmy Carter
to change that, many decades later.

>Many believe that Pearl Harbor was unprovoked, but I have often wondered if
> Japan did not figure out that the US was not being as neutral as we claimed
> to be.

In Japan's view, it was just a warning to the US to stay out of
the Pacific.  A limited strike by Japanese military on a US military
installation in a US territory, not on civilian targets or in the
mainland USA.  A pinprick, which the Japanese military leadership
calculated would be enough to convince FDR to stay out.

The outcry among the American public forced FDR and the Congress
to accept the reality that the US was in a war, started by the
Empire of Japan.  Leaving no choice for FDR and the Congress but
to do what none of them were brave enough to do themselves.

--Lee

-- 
Our Nuts, Your Mouth

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