The Bombing of Pearl Harbor (Assignment #4)

One of the greatest dilemmas in US history is whether or not the US knew about the bombing of Pearl Harbor before it happened or if they planned it out for the sake of the country.  I believe the US did know about the bombing, and FDR planned it because he was thrown into helping the countries allies and taking charge of the war. This is an example of being a good leader by doing something necessarily evil because in the process of getting what FDR wanted he killed his own citizens. He also used a middle man, Russia, like The Prince, so it wouldn’t seem like he was the cause of the destruction and people didn’t believe he wasn’t virtuous. FRD had to keep his secret from the rest of the people in the US because they might not have understood his logic. So as a leader he chose to take on a necessary evil and go forth with the attack.  While I know there are many reasons the government must have come up with for why they wanted to get involved in World War II, I personally believe the intentions were meant to help the greater good. This was for the betterment of the people and not for FDR’s self benefit. It is a perfect example of the ends justifying the means, for example losing one life to save 100.  I believe this shows virtue and being a good leader even though he didn’t inform the citizens of his plan.