would the u.s. have gone to war regardless of pearl harbor?
534815
FDR had been pushing the US to the brink of war with both countries. His belligerance towards both was evident in his policies. His support of Britain, the Lend-Lease and the extension of US escorts for British shipping were, basically, acts of war against Germany.\n\nWe would have eventually gone to war, but without the unity we had after having been attacked.\n\nOf course, we could have surrendered like the French, and the money spent on the war would have been better spent on poverty reduction plans at home, according to some people on this site.\n\nI guess FDR was just a warmongering elitist who kept America in a long depression for his evil pleasure and greed, until he could get into a war and kill millions of innocents with his indescriminate bombing of civilan targets. This would be an accurate description, according to the people who depict Bush this way.
161738
It's difficult to say, but it probably would have lasted another year or so, and there would have been millions more casualties on both sides had the Allies fought Japan to defeat with conventional weapons and tactics.\nDespite having been driven out of their island conquests in the south Pacific, the Japanese militarists were prepared to use every last man, woman, and child in the defense of "Dai Nippon."  They just simply did not acknowledge that Japan was defeated and had already lost the war, much like the Romans did not when attacked by Hannibal.  Had we not dropped the atomic bomb and forced - yes, FORCED - the Japanese to surrender, the ultimate result might have been similar to that of the Punic Wars, with the Allies as Carthage.\nThe militarists of Japan had to be unconditionally, utterly defeated, brought to trial, and some of them made to pay the ultimate price for their crimes against humanity in order for Japan to become the peaceful, democratic society it is today.  Half-measures and fighting "just enough" would simply not have worked.\nJapanese scholarship has revealed that the militarists thought America was bluffing, that we didn't have another atomic bomb to drop, after the first one was dropped on Hiroshima.  But after the second one was dropped on Nagasaki, they realized we weren't bluffing; this gave the advantage to the "peace party" in Japan, and the Japanese government then sued for peace.\nThe atomic bombs saved thousands and thousands of lives, both Japanese and Allied.
800741
The answer is simple - The rest of the world.  \nThe US has never won a battle except when it was fought on the back lot of a Hollywood Studio!\nThey go on about how they Won WWII but they where just a small part of the "Backroom Staff" on the scale of things. The only good thing about US Forces, is the size of their "Expendable Resources" both equipment and grunts!\nOn the other hand, they would win a contest of "Who shouts loudest and sounds most intimidating"
442860
Well, the japanese had bombed one of the US ships, but they claimed that they did not see the US signs. That action angered the US, thus leading up to Pearl harbor. Yamatato, the  chief of the Military in Japan tried to persuade japan to bomb pearl harbor to see where the war was going. The battles that eventually led up to WWII was the battle of midway, the battles of Iwo Jima. The japanese enventually lost the war. During WWII Japan was a part of the axis powers, with Germany and Italy. After Pearl harbor happened, many many Japanese were sent to Internment camps, in the US, there were 10 total. They were located in California, Arizona, New mexico, Wyoming and i think Nevada(not sure about nevada but others i am positive). that is all that i can think of right now, hope this helped in some way.  :-)
188320
The deniability in this case is becoming less and less plausible. He ignored the warnings so he could make darn sure he had a "good reason" to start a war in the Middle East. It was his Pearl Harbor (for which warnings were also ignored intentionally).
994977
If that was the case, all hell would break lose and there would be a huge war.\n\nThat'll never ever happen.
131639
The US tried very hard to avoid this war and for a long time it ignored all the help requests that came from Europe. \nLikely for all the world, Japan attacked the US at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7 1941 (http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/PearlHar )  and by that forced the US the join the war.\n\nIf Japan would not have done that, it is safe to assume that Germany would have win this war and got enough time to build an atom bomb. That would have influence all the world, imagine a Nazi regime with such a weapon.\n\nBTW- kingjoey66- Albert Einstein tried to warn the US government about the intense German efforts to develop the atom bomb but was almost arrested for that. Einstein was not involved with the atomic bomb development at all. His only (and major) contribution to the development is to show that such energy exists in any material.
839489
No. I would refuse, stand my ground, and do everything in my power to stop such a thing.\n\nI would rather die for my rights and property than fight a war that we provoked for this country.
719397
The USA does not go to war because of a difference in ideology. It is because of economic and defensive strategies. The war in Iraq was as much about protecting oil reserves as it was protecting US citizens from the big bad terrorists. Every country seeks to advance its financial and political interests. The US just has more resources to do it than any other nations. It follows in a long line of historical examples where a nation has gone to war on the pretence of making a better world where the actual aim was betterment of their own nation, for example the crusades, where ultimately it was just a land grab as opposed to enlightening the world to the "joys of christianity". It is, was and always will be a major issue facing the world, as nations jostle for position in the global hierarchy.
785092
In my honest opinion I wouldn't be surprised. Did you know that the american government knew about a possible attack on Pearl Harbor. They knew about it but did nothing. Why? Because they wanted to join the war, but the american people did not want to. So they needed a push, for war. What better push for war than having the enemy attack you on your soil. The one thing maked me believe that the government had something to do w/911, is that there was no plane wreckage or luggage or anything resembling a plane when it went down in the Pentagon and in Penn. Why?
598403
A decision was made to end the war. It had been going on since Dec. 7, 1941. Remember? Maybe you don't know. The Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor..dropping the atomic bomb saved coutless thousands of American and Allied lives. The war in the Pacific could gone on and on. When did Chuck Norris say that? \nWhy don't you go to a library and look up the history of WWII?\nYes, BOOKS.\nPayback is hell. Ask the 1,300 navy men entombed in the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.
336019
it would depend on the circumstances of the war
595577
Hindsight is 20-20, but I'm not sure. We still would have lost American lives so it seems like we would still have gone. However because of how brutal and devastating the attacks were that they hit a target and how they have permanently scared DC and NYC, those things might have had a larger effect on the decision than the acts themselves... OK, I think we would have no matter what. I believe Bush wanted to go to war and unfortunately 9-11 gave him an opportunity to do so without a fight from government or the American people.
456753
If Japan had not attached Pearl Harbor they would have attacked another target.  Remember Japan started the war in the Pacific not the U.S.  Pearl Harbor was a strategic target and base to the Pacific Fleet.  Our saving grace that day was the fact that our air craft carriers were out of port at the time.  \n\nJapan brought the war to our door step and we took it right back to Tokyo.
1107193
If you are talking about Pearl Harbor Dec 7th 1941 that is correct.  At the end of the Japaneses attack on Pearl Harbor there were only a very small amount of ships between Hawaii and the California Coast.\n\nThe Big mistake was that the fleet was anchored in two straight lines bow to stern and made a very large target.  Since then the Navy has a new policy to separate ships at anchor. And to anchor them in a random pattern.
334334
At 5 am Sept 1st 1939, Hitler invades Poland. The British and French issue an ultimatum by that afternoon. It expired at noon GMT Sept 3rd. Birtan and France then declared war on Germany, HOWEVER, World War II was not a world war until Japan attacked the USA at Pearl Harbor on Sunday Dec. 7th 1941 at 7am. Go find someone who was there, like I did. I'm sure they have many intresting tales to tell. Dont be afraid of the old. They actually like to talk about the good old bad old days.
131658
Pearl Harbor was not a state in 1941.  In 1814 Fort McHenry (in Baltimore) was bombed by the British during the War of 1812.  It was during this battle that Francis Scott Key wrote his famous poem, "The Star-Spangled Banner."