For their part the Japanese strike force had been grounded at their bases by fog and by the time they finally took off it was mid morning. He finally authorised a reconnaissance to the north, the expected invasion route but the results were inconclusive. At this critical moment MacArthur seems to have been paralysed by indecision with the instruction not to initiate an aggressive move and the immediate need for some decisive action. His air chief, Brereton, wanted to launch a B 17 strike on Japanese bases in Formosa but he received no direct instructions to go ahead with a strike from his commander. When news came of the Pearl Harbour attack there was confusion in MacArthur's command. Instructions from Washington insisted that there be no covert act by US forces to provoke the Japanese during the tense days before the surprise attack. In fact there was total confusion in the American camp.
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