I suspect that you are aware of the Potsdam Proclamation urging Japan to surrender, and the 27 million leaflets we dropped onto Japanese cities before we dropped the bomb. I suspect you are aware of the Suicide Cliffs of Saipan. I suspect you are aware of how few Japanese surrendered in the battle of... well... pick any battle ever fought between the US and Japan in the Pacific. The Japanese had quite different ideas about what 'defeat' meant than you do.
And I can only assume you are aware that there were ongoing talks on surrender between the Japanese and US at the time the bombs were dropped, in fact the main sticking point was on terms of the Japanese surrender - what would happen to the Imperial family after the surrender? The Japanese were trying to negotiate terms where the Imperial family would remain as the figurehead of the Japanese state, whilest in the US there was a split opinion - some people were pressing for him to be tried for war crimes and others wanted him to remain in position.
In addition hours before the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki the Soviets had declared war on Japan and the Japanese were having a high level meeting to discuss surrendering.
I've got to ask do ou really think that dropping leaflets is a fair warning to surrender? It was a pretty much regular tatic in war it was used a lot in WW1 without causing mass either side to suddenly surrender
As an additional point I qoute Truman "When dealing with beasts they should be treated as beasts" - this was his comment on the dropping of 2 atomic bombs on Japan. There are also quotes from before the dropping of the bombs by Truman describing the Japanese as barbaric savages and other similar such terms
John Maynard Keynes Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone
Patternweaver's fiancé
Denice
KRO
*bowtieless*
This message last edited by snoopster on 1/21/2003 at 6:13:03 AM.
