"I do not, though, think it proves what an informed, considered, and responsible opinion would have been, at the time......"
I consider the opinions of the 5 star General Eisenhower, and the opinion of 5 star Admiral Leahy to be informed, considered, and responsible.
One never has the luxury of an absolute context in choosing a course of action. However, I believe there was sufficient context to indicate a more principled course than was chosen. I believe that certain humanitarian concerns became subverted to the emotional tyrants of revenge, fear, weariness, and hate.
Granted that these emotions are all too human: still, it is clear that a great number of very informed, considerate, and responsible men and women were indeed incapable of endorsing the choices that were made. Fifty-five years later we still have many such people.
I am simply one of those people, and I am not in the least ashamed to identify with the likes of those who could not endorse the actions that were taken.
If I am not misunderstanding your comments, it appears that you would have made substantially the same choices as were made.
I have immense respect for the people behind the names to whom I have associated my opinion...so I am only too happy to acknowledge your right to your own opinion. I will agree to disagree.
There are so many examples of erstwhile attempts to stop the war at an earlier stage that one wearies of continually allowing their voices to speak to us in modern times: so I wil close with one example out of innumerable:
"On May 28, 1945, Hoover visited President Truman and suggested a way to end the Pacific war quickly: "I am convinced that if you, as President, will make a shortwave broadcast to the people of Japan - tell them they can have their Emperor if they surrender, that it will not mean unconditional surrender except for the militarists - you'll get a peace in Japan - you'll have both wars over."
Richard Norton Smith, An Uncommon Man: The Triumph of Herbert Hoover, pg. 347.
"In early May of 1946 Hoover met with General Douglas MacArthur. Hoover recorded in his diary, "I told MacArthur of my memorandum of mid-May 1945 to Truman, that peace could be had with Japan by which our major objectives would be accomplished. MacArthur said that was correct and that we would have avoided all of the losses, the Atomic bomb, and the entry of Russia into Manchuria." |
