Q&A · 1:42:42-1:48:24

Did the intelligence point only to the Philippines?

The criticism of Turner distinguishes a warning sent to the western Pacific from evidence that supposedly ruled out Pearl Harbor.

Question

Did American intelligence point only to the Philippines rather than Pearl Harbor?

Short answer

In this reading of Turner's testimony, no: the evidence was divided between the two targets, but he chose not to warn Pearl Harbor.

Notes

The objection that intelligence pointed only to the Philippines is rejected through a particular reading of Turner's congressional testimony. In that reading, Turner considered the evidence evenly divided between the Philippines and Pearl Harbor, yet warned the western Pacific without passing the same warning to Hawaii. Kimmel also lacked the access to raw intelligence previously available to Richardson. The allegation is therefore that an assumption about Japanese intentions overrode the uncertainty in the information. Warning the western Pacific did not establish that every other target had been excluded. The distinction places responsibility on the handling and distribution of intelligence, rather than simply on whether reports were collected.