As the common saying by George Santayana goes, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” Despite the fact that history does not repeat itself in perfect sequence, this statement has proven itself to be true throughout history. One particular example in American history is the failure of intelligence in both the bombing of Pearl Harbor, as well as the attack of September 11th on the Twin Towers. This holds true in the failure to anticipate the attacks despite the warning signs in both dreadful occasions. The prelude to Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the threat of Al Qaeda in 2001 have very little in common with one another. According to Cultures of War, by John W. Dower, the intentions and tactics of the Japanese were to distract
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According to Dower, the Japanese intended to plan it so that the U.S. would receive a message a few minutes before the attack saying that they were cutting ties with the United States. The translation and delivery of this note was delayed and was not received by the U.S. until a few minutes after the bombing already ensued. However, the late arrival of this note is irrelevant because “the United States had cracked Japan’s diplomatic code in August 1940. Top-level officials already knew that relations were being broken off and Japan was poised to embark on a new stage of military expansion” (Dower). One would think that, given this knowledge, the military would be alerted and readied to defend a possible war instead of keeping this information a secret. Instead our military was caught by surprise and excruciatingly unprepared. Concerning the attack on the World Trade Center, Dower writes that Al Qaeda had issued a fatwa declaring war on the United States for occupying the Islamic holy lands. Following this, bin Laden appeared on several interviews explaining why the U.S. was singled out for an attack and “on August 7, Al Qaeda directed simultaneous suicide-bombing attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania” (Dower). While the U.S. did not ignore this, for some reason it did not set off a huge warning signal that Al Qaeda made the United States its main
According to Dower, the Japanese intended to plan it so that the U.S. would receive a message a few minutes before the attack saying that they were cutting ties with the United States. The translation and delivery of this note was delayed and was not received by the U.S. until a few minutes after the bombing already ensued. However, the late arrival of this note is irrelevant because “the United States had cracked Japan’s diplomatic code in August 1940. Top-level officials already knew that relations were being broken off and Japan was poised to embark on a new stage of military expansion” (Dower). One would think that, given this knowledge, the military would be alerted and readied to defend a possible war instead of keeping this information a secret. Instead our military was caught by surprise and excruciatingly unprepared. Concerning the attack on the World Trade Center, Dower writes that Al Qaeda had issued a fatwa declaring war on the United States for occupying the Islamic holy lands. Following this, bin Laden appeared on several interviews explaining why the U.S. was singled out for an attack and “on August 7, Al Qaeda directed simultaneous suicide-bombing attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania” (Dower). While the U.S. did not ignore this, for some reason it did not set off a huge warning signal that Al Qaeda made the United States its main