Admiral James O. Richardson - The Wisest Man of the 20th Century?

If he isn't, then he's gotta be close. a) As early as a year and a half before Pearl Harbor, Richardson protested vociferously to Stark that it was stupid and reckless to leave the American fleet at Pearl Harbor in that it quite literally posed a danger to every vessel (his recommendation being that the ships be called back to the West Coast ASAP). b) He recognized that the manpower of the Navy was woefully inadequate (prior to Pearl Harbor) and, much more importantly, that it would take a good 24 months to ameliorate the situation (the amount of time that it takes to make a petty officer third class out of promising recruit). And c) he was one of the few people who had the foresight to predict that a war with Japan could easily take multiple years, cost billions of dollars, and result in thousands of casualties......................................................................................Needless to say, this learned man (a la Powell and Armitage under Bush 2) was marginalized by FDR and a war that either could have been delayed (hopefully to a point where America had better preparedness) or avoided altogether exploded and boy was it a doozy. Thank you Mr.s Churchill and Roosevelt.