sir, our pacific fleet is already down to almost nothing.
the attack seems inevitable. the question is where? the way to answer that question is to ask: if we were the japanese, how would we do it?
so they pop out and attack where?
mr. president, pearl harbor caught us because we didn't face facts. this isn't a time for ignoring them again. there are no planes in the entire american arsenal capable of covering the distance to japan from any land base we control while carrying enough bombs to do any damage whatsoever.
the navy's planes are small, carry light loads, and have short range. we would have to get them within a few hundred miles of japan, and therefore risk our carriers. and if we lose our carriers, we have no shield against invasion.
mr. president. with all respect. what you are asking can't be done.
the enterprise will ride shotgun when we launch the bombers. they wanted our carriers at pearl, and now we've come to them. if the japanese get us, they'll be having dinner in san francisco next month.
seven hundred miles.