Americans need to come to the realization that the bombings of civilians was really mass murder, not unlike what Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan were guilty of.
Great column on the subject.
The Atomic Bombing of Japan, Reconsidered
By Alan Mosley
Mises.org
January 2, 2019
Russia’s move, in fact, compelled the Japanese to consider unconditional surrender; until then, they were only open to a conditional surrender that left their Emperor Hirohito some dignity and protections from war-crimes trials. Ward concludes that, as in the European theatre, Truman didn’t beat Japan; Stalin did.
Harry Truman never expressed regret publicly over his decision to use the atomic bombs. However, he did order an independent study on the state of the war effort leading up to August of 1945, and the strategic value of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. In 1946, the U.S. Bombing Survey
published its findings, which concluded as follows: “Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey’s opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945 and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated.” This is an intensive condemnation of Truman’s decision, seeing as Russia did enter the war, and that plans for an invasion had been developed.
As
Timothy P. Carney writes for the Washington Examiner, the fog of war can be a tricky thing. But if we’re forced to side with Truman, or Eisenhower and the other dissenting military leaders, the Eisenhower position isn’t merely valid; it actually aligns better with some fundamental American values. Given all the uncertainty, both at the time and with modern historical revisionism, it’s better to look to principle rather than fortune-telling. One principle that should be near the top of everyone’s list is this: it’s wrong to target civilians with weapons of mass destruction. The deliberate killing of innocent men, women, and children
by the hundreds of thousands cannot be justified under any circumstances, much less the ambiguous ones Truman encountered. Whether his decision was motivated by indignation toward Japanese “
pigheadedness” or concern for his troops, Truman’s use of such devastating weapons against non-combatants should not be excused. Americans must strive for complete and honest analysis of the past (and present) conflicts. And if she is to remain true to her own ideals, America must strive for more noble and moral ends—in all conflicts, domestic and foreign—guided by our most cherished first principles, such as the Golden Rule. At the very least, Americans should not try so hard to justify mass murder.
The Atomic Bombing of Japan - LewRockwell LewRockwell.com
No, I disagree with all of this.
In a world war, there is no such thing as a non-combatant.
If you exist in a society, you are supporting the war effort. Throughout all human history, the way that an enemy is defeated is by killing 'the man behind the man, with the gun'.
This is one of the reasons that we have had so many long drawn out combat zones in the last couple of decades.
Until you wipe out the people that are supporting the war effort, the war will continue.
This is why the war in Vietnam never ended, while we were there. We killed the vietcong, and the North Vietnamese troops, but never attacked the people that were feeding, funding, supplying, and replacing all the troops we killed.
So the war just never ended. If the US military had been unshackled, we would have easily... EASILY wiped out north Vietnam. Walk in the park.
Same with Syria today, and the Ukraine.
Until one side starts wiping out the people of those countries, neither of those wars will end. As long as the man, behind man with gun, continues to feed the man with the gun, fund the man with the gun, supply the man with the gun.... then there will always be a man with a gun shooting at you.
What do you think Sherman's march to the sea was all about? You had to wipe out the people that were supplying the war effort. Until the public says they have had enough, and agree to end the conflict, the the conflict doesn't end.
And by the way........
I get a little irritated with people that focus on the atom bomb. Does everyone not know what we were doing before dropping that bomb?
We were fire-bombing. Do all of you know what fire-bombing is?
So I assume everyone is aware of Paradise California, the town that was wiped out by a raging wild fire inferno, that killed 86 people, and had these chilling pictures of devastation
The difference is, that was an almost rural hill-side community. What if the same thing happened in the dead center of a major metropolitan city?
Tokyo ^
In world war 2, bombs dropped on London, caused a fire storm. When the temperatures get hot enough, just like a wild fire in California, the fire creates its own wind, that fans the flames, increasing heat and fire, which is how wild fire can burn 5,000 acres in 3 hours, like what happened in California.
Well, the powers that be realized this was a great way to do major damage, and specifically set out to create bombs that had the hottest flames, and the highest chance of catching the surrounding building and anything else, on fire.
What was created was the fire-bombs of WW2, and one of the biggest targets hit was Tokyo.
The piles of ash you are looking at, isn't some remote hill side community... it is Tokyo. The numbers of dead, are still unknown to this day. Estimates are over hundred thousand at least.
The atomic bomb drop on Hiroshima, only killed 80 thousand. And many were instantly vaporized, not set ablaze in a massive inferno.
By far, the fire bombings across Japan were far more terrifying than the atom bombs. They caused far more devastation, and cause vastly more suffering and pain to the people who lived threw it, and those who didn't.
And oddly enough, it also harmed our troops far more. The smell of burnt human flesh, was so bad, that pilots got sick from the smell of burnt people, from just being around their planes at the air base, days after the attack had happened. I've heard that some vet pilots, never had a cook out, or open fire again for the rest of their lives, because the smell of smoke, brought back the smell of burnt flesh of those people in Tokyo.
Everyone focuses on the atom bomb. People seem to forget that one of the reasons we dropped that big bomb, because we were so horrified at the firebombings, and we wanted a way to push this war until it ended.
My opinion to this day is.... it was the right move. Not a good move.... there are no 'good moves' in war. But it was the right move. Those bombs convinced the Japanese people, and the Japanese government, to move towards surrender, and finally ending at least some of the horrors of WW2.