A 9/11 Anniversary special: What if the Pearl Harbor Era had 9/11 Era insanity?

[The Mikado]

Try this:

November 11, 1943: Second Spanish American War Drags On, No End In Sight

A mere month from the second anniversary of President Roosevelt's War On Fascism, we decided to look back on his historic decision to respond to the attack on Pearl Harbor with a "War on Fascism," including a campaign against both the Spain of Francisco Franco and the Portugal of Antonio Salazar, rather than war with Japan, Germany, and Italy as expected at the time.  "We must defeat the fascists wherever they may be," the President said, and since then the US has found itself in a global campaign against Spanish and Portuguese imperial holdings worldwide.  Initial successes included the swift seizure of Portuguese Goa, but the long and drawn out campaign in Mozambique has been plagued by malaria-ridden fatalities and has raised questions about Roosevelt's true intentions in the war.

"It's clearly imperial in nature," said former Vice President Henry Wallace, who resigned in disgust with the Administration's actions.  "Roosevelt clearly wanted an excuse to seize the remaining colonies of Spain and Portugal and used Pearl Harbor as an excuse.  I mean, the people that attacked us were Japanese, not Spanish!  Can he not tell the difference between different types of fascists?"

Deprived of the expected US intervention, the war in Europe and Asia took a very different route.  Chancellor Adolf Hitler of Germany, delighted at the news, agreed to give the US Navy immunity from attacks from the Kriegsmarine on the high waves of the Atlantic as the Navy steamed off to Algarve and Seville.  Instead, without American reinforcement, the forces of General Montgomery surrendered after a long and bitter siege after the Second Battle of Al Alamein in late 1942 as General Rommel proudly strutted up to the Suez Canal.  The Suez, an important lifeline between the British Empire and it's Crown Jewel, India, was closed to English traffic, leading to increasing instability in India as Mohandas Ghandi's "Quit India" movement gained support in light of both lessened British contact from across the Suez and Japanese military successes in nearby Burma.  Rommel then proceeded to wipe out the cut-off British forces in Palestine, Transjordan, and Iraq, seizing that state's vast oil reserves for Germany.

As American forces prepare for the final seizure of Lisbon, Salazar remained defiant and Franco vowed that even should Portugal fall, Spain will continue to fight on to the last drop of blood.  It remains to be seen how FDR's objective of securing the remnants of the Portuguese and Spanish Empires will play out, but it seems likely that in the event of an occupation, Spain will show the same plucky resolve she did in her recent civil war.