Does the US in 1941 knew first hand that the Japanese is going to attack Pearl H

Question:

Does the US in 1941 knew first hand that the Japanese is going to attack Pearl Harbor?

Since I was never born yet, it just creeps up my mind when I watch so many war movies regarding WW2, one of the movies I cherished most is Tora,Tora,Tora. Then came Pearl Harbor, which eventually I had the impression that the US Naval intelligence has already detected the presence of a Japanese vessel near Hawaii, yet they concluded it as a hoax.

This gave me the impression also that the only thing America would go to war is by the strike of the enemy which is in this case, the Japanese empire. America doesn't want to go to war in the first place even with the invitation of Britain to stand with them side by side against Hitler's army.

Did they know that the enemy would strike, when and where, yet they reluctantly waited? This also goes to 9/11?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: There are a lot of things that went on in 1941 that many don't take into consideration. One thing is that to sail a strike force of over 30 ships from Japan, to Hawaii and back was a huge undertaking at that time. There were few naval warships that could undertake such a journey successfully. Remember that even at the end of the war sailing a fleet from Hawaii to Japan and back wasn't easy and that's with years of experience now of at sea refueling, which wasn't done as much before the war.

Second, I feel that many in command had a feeling war was coming, but 'experts' of the day thought Japan would strike the Philippines or somewhere closer to home first. Remember Hawaii wasn't a state at the time.

Radar wasn't a trusted piece of technology like it is in today's world. It was still new and many were not sure that it would perform as the inventors claimed it would. Remember inventions don't always work, or do what the inventors claim until it??s proven.

Also remember that the ambassador of Japan was to delivers his message to the USA by 1 PM Washington time and many 'experts' figured that Japan would attack a US military base within 24 hours, not as they were declaring war. So many thought they'd have some time to get warning out to the commands across the Pacific.

Pearl Harbor and 9/11 were a series of unfortunate events that allowed the events to occur. There is no conspiracy, no behind the scenes that the government did it, just errors that conspiracy theories detract from, and prevent us from fixing so it doesn't happen again.