Well, certainly not as much a factor as the other considerations, but I do believe it was weighed in. Americans hated the Japanese at the time it's true, but we do not as a people take any joy in killing even for vengeance.

Originally Posted by Charge 7

but we do not as a people take any joy in killing even for vengeance.

sorry charge (and i know this is comparing past to present) there is alot that suggests otherwise on this board.

i really dont mean to flame anyone i just felt it worth mentioning that some people will take any oppertunity to hate. not that i think it's a national trait or anything....it's just People.


what i was thinking last night is this: what would've happened if japan was first to fall and the US had the bomb available for use on germany....what would've happened then? would it be used?

I guess it would depend on how close american and russian troops were and what the projected casualties were.

The stories of the men who dropped the bomb:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4718579.stm

Originally Posted by Missileer

I think this is closest to the truth.

"How could a president, or the others charged with responsibility for the decision, answer to the American people if... after the bloodbath of an invasion of Japan, it became known that a weapon sufficient to end the war had been available by midsummer and was not used?"

I think that the resistance that Japan had shown in the Pacific island hopping campaign demonstrated the futility hope for a Japanese surrender.

Consider that Japan only surrendered after a second bomb and even after that, there was a coup de tat attempted to kidnap the Emperor and somehow stop the surrender from happening. Japan would not have surrendered until well into the planned invasion, IF EVER.

Originally Posted by chewie_nz

sorry charge (and i know this is comparing past to present) there is alot that suggests otherwise on this board.

i really dont mean to flame anyone i just felt it worth mentioning that some people will take any oppertunity to hate. not that i think it's a national trait or anything....it's just People.

This board is not a microcausm of the American people. Note that I did say we hated them. Many people did enjoy killing them I'm sure and knowing what my father saw in the Pacific as a WWII Marine, what my uncle saw as a POW forced into slave labor for them in condemned coal mines, I can't say I'd blame those folks. What I said was the nation itself, and more importantly, the government in power at the time, was not so full of blood lust that they enjoyed the idea of killing Japanese. Truman probably didn't care too damn much about the Japanese, but he was a fair man for the most part with alot of practical sense. The other reasons I mentioned - shortening the war, reducing US casualties and keeping out the Russians were much, much more in his mind. But knowing that less Japanese would die from the bombs than from a future invasion was quite likely something that would have appealed to his common sense. That is my opinion. I will not state that it was a fact.

am tellinya good ol chaps, you created those weaps and you gotta deal with em. Godl be very unpleased me thinks...

Originally Posted by Field_Marshal

am tellinya good ol chaps, you created those weaps and you gotta deal with em. Godl be very unpleased me thinks...

Your statement could use a good bit more ellaboration. I believe that the gist of it is that "God did not approve of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," is that correct Marshall?

What annoys me about the Japanese is that still wont admit that any thing that they did during WW2 was wrong. Credit to the Germans they will admit that much of what they did brought shame upon their Country. All Japanese school books all seem to blame every one else for the War, they did not start it by an unproved or an undeclared intention of war before the attacked America. Okay they did intend to declare war a few minutes before the attack went in, but they had no intention of giving America any time to alert it's defences. The Japanese troops raped and murdered all the way there troops went. They worked the POWs until that died or killed them off the locals did not fair much better. They had plans a foot to kill every POW off before America had time to invade, lets face it by dropping the bomb it saved a bloodbath of unbelievable proportions. When the Japanese took Honk Kong it was declared an open city for 5 days, were the Japanese soldiers could go into house take any thing they fancied from your goods to having sex with your wife, any protest would be met with death. Yet here we are 60 years on and a number of people think the the Japanese have been hard by. There were very few penalties on the Japanese after the war, America poured a lot of money into Japan to help bring this country back to life. What did Japan give to Countries that they laid waste to, well it was a little as possible.

I agree with you there, the bomb was the only way to save the lives of the POWs.
The anniversary of the bombing is tomorrow (saturday)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4748027.stm

could you facilitate what you were trying to say thunder god...I didnt get ye...