To carry out such tasks we would have to exert a
 
major naval and military effort in the Atlantic. We would 
 
then be able to do little more in the Pacific than remain
 
on a strict defensive.
 
     Were we to enter the war against Germany and Italy
 
as an ally of Great Britain, I do not necessarily anticipate
 
immediate hostile action by Japan, whatever may be her Axis
 
obligation. She may fear eventual consequences and do
 
nothing. We might be faced with demands for concessions as
 
the price of her neutrality. She might agree to defer her
 
aggressions in the Netherlands East Indies for the time
 
being by a guarantee of ample economic access to the Western
 
Hemisphere and to British and Dutch possessions. But she
 
might even demand complete cessation of British and American
 
assistance to China.
 
     The strong wish of the American government and people
 
at present seems to be to remain at peace. In spite of this,
 
we must face the possibility that we may at any moment become 
 
involved in war. With war in prospect, I believe our every
 
effort should be directed toward the prosecution of  a national
 
policy with mutually supporting diplomatic and military aspects,
 
and having as its guiding feature a determination that any
 
intervention we may undertake shall be such as will ultimately
 
best promote our own national interests.  We should see the 
 
best answer to the question: "Where should we fight the war,
 
                              -18-