IT’S EASY TO WIN WHEN THE ENEMY DOESN’T KNOW THERE’S A WAR

Admit it: you’ve never stopped to wonder how the United States gained the Pacific island of Guam, have you? There’s no reason to. It doesn’t come up in dinner party conversations. And they certainly didn’t teach it in school.

Guam wasn’t seized in some great battle or handed over through diplomatic negotiation. The reason we acquired it was simple: bureaucratic bungling. As they said in the movie Cool Hand Luke, “What we have here is failure to communicate.” Here’s how it went down. Continue reading →