Day of Deceit - Stinnett's Proposition

Stinnett's Proposition

Stinnett's starting point is a memorandum written by Lieutenant Commander Arthur H. McCollum in October 1940, which was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. McCollum, who was head of the Far East desk of the Office of Naval Intelligence at the time, discussed the strategic situation in the Pacific and ended with a list of eight actions directed at the Japanese threat. Stinnett characterizes the actions as "provocations" and states his belief in McCollum's point F ("Keep the main strength of the U.S. fleet now in the Pacific in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands") was intended to lure the Japanese into attacking it. Stinnett asserts that the overall intent was to provoke an act of war which would allow Roosevelt to enter into active conflict with Germany in support of the United Kingdom. This would be contrary to Britain's best interests, and Churchill and Roosevelt knew it; Hitler certainly did.

Short and Kimmel were ordered to remain in a defensive posture with respect to the Japanese. Stinnett claims that intelligence intercepts were deliberately withheld from them in order to prevent them from mounting an adequate defense. He also claims radio traffic was intercepted from the fleet as it approached Hawaii, allowing it to be tracked, but that again this information was withheld so that the defenders would be unprepared. All of this, says Stinnett, was directed from the White House itself with Roosevelt's knowledge and at his behest.