Originally Posted by 360view
There is a book “Legacy of Ashes” which is a semi-official history of the CIA.

The first chapter tells the story of a meeting near the end of President Eisenhower’s term as President where he literally cussed out the head of the CIA.

Eisenhower’s anger was that at the beginning of his term he had clearly ordered the CIA head to
“quit doing any of the James Bond stuff, and concentrate on making sure another Pearl Harbor-like surprise attack does not happen.”

Eisenhower angrily yelled:
“You’ve left nothing but a legacy of ashes”

A few years ago a Kentucky newspaper did a series of articles about Pearl Harbor
centered around born in Kentucky Admiral Husband E. Kimmel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Husband_E._Kimmel

These articles had a lot of stuff not normally discussed.

Washington DC Navy orders to restrict use of aviation gasoline in the Pacific
was perhaps the most
“penny wise and pound foolish”
decision ever as it stopped Sunday flights of PBY flying boats.


Not sure I understand that causation, Stopping Sunday PBY flights is a separate decision from restricting the use of aviation gasoline.
Besides, this country was so isolationist for the decade leading up to Pearl, and content to let Hitler roam unchecked in Europe for over 2 years 2 months, the lives lost at Pearl finally got us to rise up and do the right and needed thing.
That is on us, not canceled PBY flights.
There is a lesson here.


Reality check, that half the population is smarter then 50% of the people and it's a constantly contested fact.