I think you are well-intentioned, but lacking any real appreciation of the war realities in 1945.
For example, do you know that:
(1) The principal industry of Hiroshima in 1945 was war materiel production?
(2) That Hiroshima was headquarters for the Japanese Second Army Group, the army which was to be the first line of defense for the home islands?
(3) That the defense plan for the home islands included arming the civilian population (men, women, and children), and that such arming and training was well underway at the time of the bombing?
(4) That subsequent to both A-bombs, when Emperor Hirohito finally decided on surrender, factions of the military leadership attempted to assassinate him (very nearly succeeding) to prevent surrender?
(5) That several days after Hiroshima, Russia declared war on Japan, creating the near-certainty that Stalin intended to invade Japan with his million-man army in China, condemning Japan to Communist police-state status similar to Poland or Hungary?
I mention these facts to give you more perspective on your characterizations of "innocent civilians," "civilian cities," and "sick is sick." If you want to continue calling Truman and others "cowards," I think at the very least you owe us an explanation as to how you would have forced capitulation on a fanatical populace bent on self-destruction. Taking account of the military and political realities of the time ... tell us what your plan would have been. (And don't worry about offending me!)
JC |
