Nine Months Quotes



The Japanese diplomats had delivered the last part of a 14 part response to the American peace proposals. The Japanese had strung the repose out with much dissembling to cover up the fact that the Japanese fleet was sailing to attack Pearl Harbor. At the time Hull made this intended diplomatically insulting statement, he and the American leadership knew that Pearl Harbor had been attacked, while the Japanese diplomats knew the attack was planned but did not know it had taken place as their code description of the cables was not very efficient. FDR and Hull had decided to send the Japanese Diplomats back to Japan, but Hull could not refrain from chastising Nomura and the Japanese for their duplicity.