David Swanson discusses Pearl Harbor with Scott, an event that has become sanctified as a U.S. holiday, and, worse than that, is used as part of the perpetual narrative that America is always the victim and every war we fight is just. Swanson unveils some of the true history of the attack on Pearl Harbor, beginning with the fact that Roosevelt’s administration had numerous warnings and lots of intelligence that the Japanese were planning an attack. Newspapers in Hawaii were even predicting it several days in advance, and yet little was done to prepare. Swanson believes this is evidence that Roosevelt was looking for a way to get the U.S. into the war, particularly after repeated failed attempts to goad Germany into a similar attack. World War II’s legacy as the “just war”, explains Swanson, has done lasting damage to the American consciousness, as it is continually used to justify war in general.

Discussed on the show:

• “The Ancient Mythical Rites of Pearl Harbor Day” (DavidSwanson.org)
• “Tomgram: Aviva Chomsky, Making Native Americans Strangers in Their Own Land” (TomDispatch.com)
• RMS Lusitania
• McCollum memo
• A Dangerous Idea

David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, radio host, and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee. He is the author of War is a Lie and When the World Outlawed War. Find him on Twitter @davidcnswanson.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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