Alternatives to a remarkably poor decision on 7 December 1941.

The surface fleet yes. However, great things were expected of the submarines and the B-17s (yes I know those were USAAF not USN).

Even in theory, neither was expected to be able to prevent the West Pacific to be lost. The productivity of the sub threat would fall sharply and the B-17 threat cease to be once the US holdings in the West Pacific (which the navy didn’t expect to be long: six months maximum, although MacArthur’s incompetence ensured that would never be reached) were. In practice the torp problem almost totally negated the subs for the first two years of the war (a grace period the Japanese proceeded to totally squander) while the B-17s proved disappointing until new tactics were introduced.
 
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