US President Donald Trump drew a controversial parallel between US strikes on Iran and Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on Thursday (March 19th) as he defended his administration’s war strategy during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Washington.
Asked why allies were not informed in advance, Trump emphasized the element of surprise in military operations.
“We wanted a surprise. Who knows a surprise better than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” Trump said.
“You believe in surprises, I think a lot more than we do,” he added.
An awkward moment in the Oval Office
The remarks came during a bilateral meeting at the White House and underscored the sensitive diplomatic context of the comments.
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The Attack on Pearl Harbor: The Surprise Strike That Plunged the U.S. into World War II
Imperial Japan launched a surprise air attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, while the United States was still neutral in World War II.
The attack, planned by Isoroku Yamamoto, involved more than 350 aircraft. Eight American battleships were hit, four were sunk, and more than 180 aircraft were destroyed.
Approximately 2,400 Americans were killed and over 1,100 wounded, making it one of the deadliest attacks on American soil.
The United States declared war on Japan the following day, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt calling it “a date that will live in infamy”, marking America’s entry into World War II.
Consequences of war
The United States finally defeated Japan in August 1945, days after the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed hundreds of thousands of civilians, ending World War II.
