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Originally Posted by ObjSRgtLw Well that way it wasn't really un-bloody... but for America it sure was.
What about the thesis that America's financial situation didn't allow a longer war against Japan (apart from the bloody aspect  ...) and so they just dropped the A-Bomb.
And do you think there was much consideration (i'd like to think so)- who decided it? were there strong voices against it in the time being or after the bombs exploded (condemning it)
Are there sources like (state-)Protocols or sth comparable to that?
One way would be to consult the press before and after the strike but i wouldn't know where to get them articles from my location... |
Well lets take a look at the Pacific war in general, it was stated that 99% of Japanese soldiers preferred death to surrender and massive numbers of Japanese civilians had committed suicide on the islands that had been taken up until that point so even from the Japanese perspective the atomic bombings were a relatively low casualty rate given the possible outcome of an invasion, add to this the expectation of between 200,000 and 1 million Allied casualties in completing the invasion (I would suggest this was the biggest motivation for the Allies) 250,000 casualties in two cities was really not that important.
In terms of finance I seriously doubt that was an issue as I don't know of any country that has not found the money to fight a war, its not until after it that the bills roll in.
As far as opposition to the bombing at the time goes I don't think I would be far wrong in suggesting that there was little to none, by that stage Britain and the Commonwealth had been at war for 6 years and suffered huge losses and the USA had been at war 4 years and sustained heavy casualties the Allies on the whole probably wouldn't have cared if they had to irradiate the entirety of Japan to bring the war to an end.
In terms of official documents on the decision to drop the bombs I would be surprised if there is a large amount available as the Manhattan Project was kept extremely quiet right up until the time of the bombings (in fact Truman didnt even know about it until he was sworn in as President in April 1945)
But here is a link that may give you some more information....
http://www.doug-long.com/truman.htm