December 7, 1941, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said is "a date that will live in infamy." He told the truth, but for reasons that aren't as clear as some. It will live in infamy not only for reasons such as the tragic deaths of many people, but also for dark reasons. The day Pearl Harbor could have been avoided if only the United States had not been so blind to the implications. Evidently the United States had abundant clues warning them of the attack, yet they lowered their guard and were ignorant in times of world war and were therefore in a vulnerable position to be surprised by the Japanese. To fully understand why Pearl Harbor is such an important turning point in history, some basic knowledge. They had invaded Manchuria and established it as a state, renaming it Manchukuo. Subsequently, they sought to expand their budding empire by conquering China. However, they encountered Chinese resistance, ruled by Chiang Kai-shek. The Japanese attempted to subjugate China, which ended up causing a crisis and without any success. They struggled to adopt methods of economic strangulation, conquering major coastal ports in 1939, forcing the Chinese capital to move from Nanjing to Hankow, and in 1940 the French allowed Japan to enter Indochina. However, a treaty was made with Thailand because Japan was threatening China's last supply line, Burma Road. As a result, the United States, the Netherlands and Great Britain imposed economic restrictions cutting 90% of the materials needed for war production, forcing Japan to choose between abandoning its efforts or seizing areas rich in raw materials. For Japan, abandonment was unthinkable at the time of the decision. One of many was the lack of cooperation between the army and navy, none of the authorities believed that Pearl Harbor was in danger. This left them defenseless when it really mattered most. Furthermore, the United States has made incorrect assumptions about Japan's military capabilities. To begin with, everyone believed that they did not have maritime aircraft capable of catching the American B-24 bomber. In fact, the B-24 bomber ended World War II as the most produced heavy bomber in history. So, by our false standards, Japan was too weak to pose a serious threat to Pearl Harbor or any other part of the United States. When viewed practically, the attack was extremely inconvenient for the Japanese considering that Japan and Hawaii are approximately 4,000 miles apart. Furthermore, poor communication played a considerable role in achieving the surprise effect of the attack. For example, on December 7, the United States intercepted a message from Japan, which threatened war. Lieutenant General Walter Short, who was in command of the Army's defenses at Pearl Harbor on the day of the attack, received the warning after the attack. If he had received the intercepted message before the attack, there is a possibility that he would have been able to prepare his troops in such a way that they would have been ready to, if not react, to