After their attack on the U.S. naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces quickly conquered American, British and Dutch colonial possessions in Southeast Asia and the western Pacific. American military leaders were divided over whether the United States should focus its resources on defeating Germany or Japan first. At the same time, senior American and British military officers disagreed on how to defeat the Axis. Ironically, the first such waiver would be granted to Marshall himself, who after a distinguished tenure as Secretary of State, would become the third defense secretary. Yet, Congress would not grant another such waiver, until it approved one for President Trump’s first secretary of defense, Jim Mattis, in 2017.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 17, 2020 10:52 UTC