For example, he argues that the decision by Britain and France to declare war because of the German attack on Poland was an act of cynicism because they knew they could do nothing to help the Poles.
The committee also chided the office of the information commissioner for going beyond what it could say for sure when it told the Sunday Times that the act had been broken but that it could do nothing about it because six months had elapsed.
When NSC staff met in a room, they would refer these questions to the State Department representative, who would either act as if everything were under control or simply shrug that nothingcould be done.