The succession of brilliant and unexpectedly easy victories in the Pacific had brought dissension rather than unity to the Japanese Supreme Command. The original war plan called for the seizure of raw materials in Southeast Asia; the conquered territory would be fortified into a strategic web of bases for long-range naval operations. The Army still felt the only sensible course was to make the web so strong that America would be forced eventually to make some sort of peace. But the Navy had experienced such exhilarating triumphs that it was no longer willing to accept such a limited, defensive
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