I honestly don't have any knowledge about the Middle East to comment on this, but I think I do remember that there was a tiny difference w.r.t. your Pearl Harbor reference: First, those locked up were US citizens (of Japanese descent); and second, Japan was not a democracy, i.e. the people there had no say and, hence, no responsibility. For the record: I get that the American political system is, uhm, messed up. But doing nothing is not an option anymore. This goes too far.