Here are some references:
WORLD WAR II
Pearl Harbor
Essay: Introduction to the Literature
The level of dispute that continues to surround the events of 7 December 1941 is amazing. Every few years, another book purporting to say something new on the subject appears and enjoys relatively brisk sales.
For the most part, the basic facts about what happened on that day over 50 years ago are well established. However, many of the "how" & "why" questions continue to be debated, and most of the areas in dispute involve issues of intelligence. Essentially, the questions concern what was known and by whom and what was done or not done about it. There are at least two broad categories of contention.
The first category is what we can call conspiracy theories. Pearl Harbor abounds in such theories.
One such theory says that President Roosevelt knew the Japanese attack was coming and -- because of an overweening desire to see the United States in the war -- did not warn the Army and Navy commanders in Hawaii. Readers are referred to the following articles to get both sides of this particular dispute: Edward S. Barkin and L. Michael Meyer, "COMINT and Pearl Harbor: FDR's Mistake," International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 2, no. 4 (Winter 1988): 513-531; and Edwin C. Fishel and Louis W. Tordello, "FDR's Mistake? Not Likely," International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 5, no. 3 (Fall 1991): 360-372.
For a discussion of the latest entry into the "FDR-knew" sweepstakes, see Robert Stinnett, Day of Deceit: The Truth about FDR and Pearl Harbor (New York: Free Press, 1999).
A second conspiracy theory accuses British Prime Minister Churchill of knowing that the Japanese fleet was on the way to attack Pearl Harbor but not warning Roosevelt. The reason suggested for Churchill's action was a belief that the America's joining with England was the only way that Hitler could be defeated. The central work in this category is probably James Rusbridger and Eric Nave, Betrayal at Pearl Harbor: How Churchill Lured Roosevelt into World War II (Old Tappan, NJ: Simon & Schuster, 1992). Rusbridger was a prolific -- and often sensationalist -- author on intelligence matters. Nave is regarded by some as the father of British codebreaking in the Far East. Based largely on Nave's memory decades after the fact, the book contends that both the British and the Dutch intercepted -- and read -- a radio signal sent to the Japanese carrier force on 25 November 1941. That message is supposed to have revealed the position and likely destination of the Japanese fleet. The authors assert that Churchill received this message -- and deliberately withheld it in order to ensure that the United States would be attacked and thereby brought into the war.
The assertions in the Rusbridger and Nave book were greeted with some enthusiasm by the popular press, but were rejected almost universally by historians and intelligence experts. In the main, the book is based on hearsay and bits and pieces of information presented as evidence. The central argument in the book violates all that is known about the history of British and American cryptology. Briefly stated, the Japanese code that Rusbridger and Nave claim the message was sent in had not by all credible evidence -- and that evidence is voluminous -- been broken in 1941. In addition, the recently released minutes of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) for 1941 do not support the revisionist suggestion that Churchill had and withheld foreknowledge of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. See Richard Aldrich, "British and American Policy on Intelligence Archives: Never-Never Land and Wonderland?" Studies in Intelligence 38, no. 5 (1995): 18.
To show that conspiracy theorists are committed to equal opportunity for friends and nonfriends alike, a third theory gives Stalin knowledge of the Japanese plans. Like Churchill, he is supposed to have so badly wanted the United States in the war against Hitler that he withheld that information from the Americans.
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