Thanks Tracy. Interesting stuff. I have to read more on this.

>Japan was engaged in the war against China and needed oil and other raw materials. Their goal was the American Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, and British Malaya for resources they no longer could get due to blockades against them. So, they had to take out the Pacific Fleet first...
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>Interesting writeup on wikipedia:
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>These Japanese actions caused the U.S. to place embargoes on scrap metal and gasoline and to close the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping. The situation continued to worsen, and in 1941 Japan moved into northern Indochina. The U.S. response was to freeze Japanese assets and initiate a complete oil embargo.[2] Oil was Japan's most crucial resource, as its own supplies were very limited and 80% of Japan's oil imports came from the U.S.
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor
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>By the way, you may find this interesting:
>http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1941PEARL.html
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>>>By the way, Germany and Japan were the ATTACKERS.
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>>Neither Germany nor Iraq attacked the US directly, but the US came to the aid of countries that were attacked by them.
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>>BTW, what was Japan thinking?