McCollum memo

Common card · No. 285391

The McCollum memo, also known as the Eight Action Memo, was a memorandum, dated October 7, 1940, sent by Lieutenant Commander Arthur H. McCollum in his capacity as director of the Office of Naval Intelligence's Far East Asia section. It was sent to Navy Captains Dudley Knox, who had reservations with the actions described within the memo, and Walter Stratton Anderson. Robert Stinnett asserts this memo was part of a conspiracy by the Roosevelt Administration to secretly provoke the Japanese to attack the United States in order to bring the United States into the European war without generating public contempt over broken political promises. Germany was not obliged to assist Japan if she attacked a third party, as the Tripartite Pact was defensive in nature, something overlooked by Stinnett. It was not until November 1941 that Germany had given Japan secret assurances outside of the treaty provisions. Stinnett has attributed to McCollum a position McCollum later expressly repudiated. U.S...

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