
WW2: How Britain Ignored the Mother of All Secrets
Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
Clues and Signals Before Pearl Harbor Attack
Prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, messages were intercepted indicating the possibility of an all-out war, including warnings to Adolf Hitler from the Japanese ambassador in Berlin. Conspiracy theories suggest intentional ignorance by the US or UK, hoping for an attack to rally public support for war, but in reality, various decision-makers had different clues that didn't reach the right people in time. The historian Roberto Wollstetter noted that relevant signals are clearer after an event due to surrounding noise obscuring them beforehand, such as the British failing to recognize German radar due to an integration failure.
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