Warning Message Quotes
General Gerow was army chief of staff George Marshall’s deputy. President and the Secretary of state or worried that Japan might attack American forces in the Pacific. They thought the Philippines might be in imminent danger. Military intelligence did not agree with their political assessment. So the army temporized by drafting a general alert to all Pacific forces. FDR wanted a more specific war warning sent and the Secretary of War to carry the message. The army did then send a mild warning message to the Philippines as well as other facilities and an even milder message to Pearl Harbor. See {589278}. The commanding general and Admiral of Pearl Harbor paid little attention to the ambiguous message and ten days later the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The Philippines were invaded subsequently.
This was another of Palin’s gaffs reflecting on her shallow knowledge of American History. Paul Revere’s ride was for the purpose of warning Samuel Adams and John Hancock and the Americans along the way. It was not to warn the British of course. However, there was a grain of truth in her misstatement. Halfway on his ride, Revere was stopped by the British and questioned. The British were on their way to capture the Armory and its weapons. Revere did tell the British that as a result of his warning the Americans along the way, there would likely be 500 patriots in defense. So in a sense, Revere “warned” the British. This is another of example Palin’s shallow understanding of events and ideas for which she was notorious. See {623710} for a historians view. She was following the Freedom Trail in Massachusetts and commenting for the press at every opportunity. Ironically, Palin. In her own inimitable style, was loquacious on a subject she had not studied or prepared for.
