65 years after the A Bomb

[Dave]

The anniversary of the US dropping the first of 2 atomic bombs on the
Japan homeland is again upon us. All of us are aware of the events of
WWII and ultimately, what concluded the war. The loss of life for all
countries involved was great and it was most unfortunate that so many
Japanese civilians were killed or injured at the end.

My question to you is this... do you believe that the US dropping the bomb was the correct thing to do under the circumstances?

I believe it was the right thing to do IMO. Had the US not dropped the
bombs, I believe the world would be much different today. If Germany or
Japan had been able to build and successfully drop a atomic bomb on who
knows where, it would of surely changed the course of the war. It
wouldn't been out of the realm of possibility that the country that
surrendered could of been the US.

[Willy]

Absolutely. It was the right thing to do. They were the bullies of the World along with Germany and the other axis powers. What is interesting is how quickly people forget the cruelty Japan demostrated to the countries it conquered and to POW's. The only way to stop them was to show them that if they continued their war mongering they would be wiped of the face of the Earth. Thank God we were able to pefect the bomb before Japan and Germany. Unfortunately we are now stuck with a weapon that could wipe us all off the planet.

[XLFD]

I respectfully disagree. The US had Japan on the ropes at that time with a naval blockade arond their core islands, and were close to a surrender with few terms. At Potsdam, the allies decided to make surrender unconditional, and so it left little room for negotiations that could save face for Japan. While continuing the blockading efforts, conventional bombing and firebombing, and invasion efforts could have been costly to human life on both sides, they could have negotiated a settlement that would have been favorable to all sides and perhaps make the cold war skirmishes in Korea and Vietnam less likely to have taken place. Here's a link that describes some key player's ideas, either in retrospect or during the decision-making process.
Hiroshima Detractors.mht

Truman, who telecast that the US was in possession of a powerful weapon at Potsdam, could have demonstrated their effects on Japanese military targets or purely for demonstration. Instead they were used on civilian targets, which in retrospect, seems a great tragedy, particularly when their effectiveness was already tested in our own remote regions.

We should be at least relieved that in the 65 years since then, other than tests, they have not been used. Shortly after this, during the cold war that followed, the great thinker, Bertrand Russell gave us only a 25% chance of mankind's surviving into the 21st century. Should have put some money on that bet.

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

True about money on that bet.. However many do not consider the shear deterrent factor of the horror show that was the aftermath of those bombs. This is why someone such as Russell could not even comprehend why the specter of a nuclear war, was the largest reason one would never happen. As far as saving face though.. I feel it was proven by the cowardly raid at Pearl Harbor the Emperor could not have been trusted to negotiate a end to the war in good faith. And to this day we know how evil imperialist countries treated there war prisoners.
Some would say this isn't so.. because if a country like Iran gets the Bomb he has nothing to lose. But the specter of this possibility will most assuredly cause Israel to exterminate them as the time comes he is too close. They did so already once with Iraq's reactors back in the 70s they will no doubt do it again.

[XLFD]

Gadzooks-- it looks like me and Disarm may be on the same page (but notice I posted first)-- maybe I should reconsider my opinion ; )

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

Yeah notice I did not get too militant about it either. War in away way shape manor of for is a dirty business. No one involved has clean hands.