| The philosophy of the Japanese people at the end of WWII was still essentially feudal with the Emperor being viewed as a God ... it was also a fact that the military was the basic driving force behind the stated plan to meet the enemy "at the shoreline' and fight to the death. The plan was to make the death toll for the allies so high that they would seek peace at any price. The aim of the allies was that they were NOT going to allow the Japanese to dictate peace terms ... complete capitulation was the ONLY end result America was willing to accept. WWIII wasn't going to be allowed to happen. Even though Japan had been on the receiving end of the fire bombing of Tokyo, the Japanese military leaders still believed that they could force peace on the allies on their terms.
There are those who would try to rewrite history ... after all ... history is written by the victors as was stated in another thread ... but ... reputable historians ALL believe that the decision to use the "new" weapon (atomic bomb), was the correct decision at the time ... nothing else could have broken the military hold on the political making decisions of the Japanese government at that time.
History viewed through the mist of time with the inherent ability of hindsight is sometimes 20/20 ... in this case that isn't possible. Even today (50+ years after the end of WWII), there are still remnants of the old-line Samurai living in Japan. Interviews with these "fossils" gives the uninformed an idea of just how deadly an amphibious attack of the mainland of Japan would have been. Even after 50+ years, their beliefs are still essentially the same as they were on VJ Day (peace treaty signed on this day).
THE DECISION TO DROP THE BOMB WAS THE CORRECT DECISION.
__________________ Fair winds and following seas > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >  < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < and long may your big jib draw. -W.R.B. (Chief Bones) FCC(SW) USN(RET)- |