The West struggles to evaluate threats. Here's how it can get better.

"In 1924, while imprisoned at Landsberg Prison following the failed Beer Hall Putsch, a 35-year-old political agitator named Adolf Hitler began writing his manifesto, Mein Kampf. In it, he called for the destruction of the Treaty of Versailles, the creation of a new German Reich through territorial expansion, and the removal of Jews from German life. Fourteen years later, on September 30, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned from Munich to cheering crowds after concluding a meeting with the same Hitler."

"Most military leaders believed Japan would not dare strike directly at American territory, though. They were confident that the Asian nation would avoid a confrontation sure to bring about its destruction. Yet Japan's actions told a different story. Its occupation of Indochina, naval buildup, and public rhetoric about a "New Order in East Asia" made clear it was preparing for a direct clash."

Adolf Hitler outlined plans in Mein Kampf (1924) calling for overturning the Treaty of Versailles, territorial expansion, and removal of Jews from German life. In 1938 Neville Chamberlain returned from Munich claiming to have secured "peace for our time," yet Hitler invaded Poland less than a year later, initiating World War II. U.S. intelligence intercepted Japanese communications before Pearl Harbor, but military leaders underestimated Japan's willingness to strike American territory. Japan's occupation of Indochina, naval buildup, and rhetoric signaled preparation for direct conflict. The December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 Americans and crippled much of the Pacific Fleet.

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