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Profs and Pints presents: “Pearl Harbor in Perspective,” with Richard Thornton, professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University and president of the Institute for the Study of Strategy and Politics, and James Perry, institute co-director.
Friday, December 7th, is Pearl Harbor Day, marking the anniversary of the deadly Japanese attack on U.S. soil. Virtually all historical accounts of that battle focus on the tensions and conflict between the U.S. and Japan without examining the broader chain of world events surrounding Japan’s decision.
It was wheels in motion elsewhere that prompted Japan to mount the surprise attack. Japan was planning to join Germany in invading the Soviet Union and wanted to ensure that its defensive perimeter was secured beforehand. In attacking Pearl Harbor it hoped to destroy any U.S. capacity to project military power onto the Japanese homeland.
The Pearl Harbor attack was timed to two events that Japan saw as leaving the Soviet Union ripe for invasion: the fall of Moscow to Germany and the withdrawal of Soviet troops in Siberia for Moscow’s defense. Both developments seemed imminent in November 1941.
Dr. Thornton and Dr. Perry will jointly take you through the events that led to Pearl Harbor and related battles in the Philippines and at Midway, describing in details how Japanese nearly succeeded—but ultimately failed—in rendering the U.S. incapable of fighting back. Their talk will greatly enhance your understanding of a date that will live in infamy.
Advance tickets available at: https://profsandpintspearlharbor.brownpapertickets.com
