Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "The Drydock - Episode 168" video.

@ricardokowalski1579 after Dec 7th, the "thrusters" had a lot less to thrust with. My favorite scenario would be if the Japanese had left Pearl alone, and hit only the Philippines. Would the US go to war over an attack on the Philippines, executed after the US received Japan's ultimatum in DC? There would be a huge cry to save the troops stationed there, but not the fury unleashed by the attack on Pearl.
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@chucksneed5670 Drac picks and chooses among many questions. He has bypassed questions I asked I asked questions in guides 216, 217, and 220. He has responded to questions in all three of those guides, but not any of mine.
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@connormclernon26 from what some, including Drac, have said: first order of business, recruit some German QC and productivity people for working in the Italian shell factories.
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@WALTERBROADDUS the Philippines were on a path to independence. A new constitution had been written and a civilian Philippine government established. Plus, the Philippines are on the other side of the world. Value to the US government, and value as perceived by the US population could have been very different. But, the islands were still US territory, so let's assume that FDR can get a declaration of war through Congress. What would be the US response, especially if the Japanese had not gone directly after Clark and Subic on the first day, but rather landed on Mindanao or Leyte, rather than Luzon, to minimize initial loss of American lives. In the historical timeline, the US population probably recognized the fleet was damaged and the Philippine garrison beyond help. If Pearl had not been attacked, and the fleet was intact, what would the population's response be to the Philippine garrison being left for dead? But, if the US did move to reinforce the Philippines, they would be steaming past a long line of Japanese held islands, as the IJN chips away at the fleet with subs and both land and carrier based aircraft. Saipan sits directly astride the direct line from Hawaii to the Philippines and had been garrisoned by Japan since the late 30s, FDR could recognize that a relief mission would be suicidal, but refusing to launch the mission would be politically suicidal. What to do? Launch the mission, but recognize it's a one way trip and only send ships of minimal value, like the obsolete battleships? So the US replicates Force Z, at four times the scale?
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@WALTERBROADDUS I agree FDR wanted to take on Germany first. He was stretching the concept of neutrality so far it would be unrecognizable . But to make a Germany fist policy stick, in the face of a Japanese invasion of the Philippines, the US would have had to declare war on Germany the preceding October, when Ruben James was torpedoed. That horse had already left the barn, when the Japanese would have hit the Philippines, so the most immediate concern that would have riled up the US citizenry would have been the Philippine garrison being under fire, regardless of FDR's personal priorities. No pol could stand the optics of leaving 150,000 troops for dead, while avenging the loss of 100.
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