There was a lot of hand wringing after the terrorist attack on the twin towers about the failure of intelligence agencies to connect the dots prior to the attack.
Dots weren't connected prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor either. The dots that weren't connected were actually microdots -- a spy technique involving tiny dots containing microscopic print hidden on an innocent looking piece of typed paper.
There's a fascinating book with the intriguing title "Into the lion's mouth: the true story of Dusko Popov : World War II spy, patriot, and the real-life inspiration for James Bond" by Larry Loftis. Popov was a spy -- actually a double agent ostensibly working for the Germans during World War II but helping the The U.S. and Britain.
Popov had been given a questionnaire for information the Germans wanted him to retrieve from the Americans, and parts of it concerned a British attack on a naval base in Italy and how the Americans defended Pearl Harbor. It's obvious now that the Germans were gathering this information for Japan.
This information was made available to J. Edgar Hoover, but Hoover sat on it. Hoover's disgust of Popov's playboy lifestyle may have clouded Hoover's judgment. Hoover either deliberately withheld crucial intelligence or didn't comprehend the significance.
In any event, with that forewarning Pearl Harbor could have been better defended.
References: Scandal of the Century – New Book Claims USA Knew Of Pearl Harbor Plans For Months
The Tricycle Affair
FBI Skullduggery: Was J. Edgar Hoover Criminally Negligent or Treasonous?
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1:35 PM 12/7/2019
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