I recently did an diary urging that President Obama foreswear launching or supporting a surprise attack against Iran. The diary didn't amount to much and got the attention that it deserved, but some of the comments suggested that many people think it's no big deal to launch a surprise attack. So I thought I'd bring up a couple of historical things just to remind us what our attitude used to be about such things.
First is Roosevelt's address to the joint session of Congress asking for a declaration of war against Japan. Second is Under Secretary of State George Ball's opinion on a proposed surprise attack on Russian missile installations in Cuba. Both of these express opinions about surprise attacks which some think are as quaint as John Yoo thinks the Geneva Conventions on torture are.