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I realise that this is a rather wacky what-if, but here goes nothing.

Suppose that the Japanese High Command in World War II decided yes, Americans did posess fighting spirit, and that the real issue is the American Doctrine of "Just War," but quitting wasn't an option. Instead, they choose to try to sap the American Fighting Spirit by "provoking an unjust war." First, they would train a pod of dolphins to make a synchronised jump at the sound of a gun report with a specific ultrasonic siren to played first to prime them. Then, they would send the pod and a (relatively minor and expendable) warship on a run between the Home Islands and, say, Taiwan, that would by perfectly arranged "coincidence" pass lose to an American convoy doing a "show the flag" cruise. The Japanese warship fires salute at the flag, but then the dolphins jump behind one of the outermost ships of the convoy, making it seem like the American convoy is being fired upon. The Americans sink the Japanese ship, and the Dolphins Jump again. D'oh! What's more, all of this was recorded on celuloid by a prototype Japanese deep water sub with its periscope up, or a passing Japanese Civillian Airliner. Then copies are sent to the White House and the Capitol, destroying the last shreds of plausible deniability.

Assuming that this gadget ploy succedes despite being dreamed up in the times before Modern C3, how does this really affect U.S. policy in the Pacific? Will this make it harder to drive home a war they themselves provoked? Or can they sell the setup despite the footage?

Or is this simply so goofy a premise that it belongs in Alen Space Bats?
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