This kind of overconfidence can lead to disasters, such as with the Chernobyl disaster (the Ukrainian Minister of Power stated the odds of a meltdown were 1 in 10, 000 just two months before the meltdown), the Challenger (NASA estimated the odds of catastrophic failure as 1 in 100, 000), or Pearl Harbor (the American military believed that Pearl Harbor was virtually immune to attack).

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The U.S. withdrawal from Asia lead to a decline in military spending at sprawling bases like Hickam Air Force Base and Pearl Harbor Naval Base (some respite came in military housing construction throughout the last decade).

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Mr. Ford's Field Photographic Branch, which produced Academy Award-winning documentaries for the military on the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway, created a film to be shown at the war crimes tribunals at Nuremberg.

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The radar detected the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, although the military failed to react.

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He reminded the cadets the surprise attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor in 1941 sparked dramatic changes in the military and the September 11 attacks have done the same.

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If the latter, then the U.S. government should disabuse Israelis who harbor such unrealistic expectations about U.S. military protection.

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