Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (41491)	12/23/2001 12:42:04 AM
From: Solon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 82486

Do you think it was just coincidental that the Japanese FINALLY decided to surrender just a few days after Nagasaki The suvey was complete and inpartial and the conclusions were clear. It is a fair assumption that, if there were any bias within the stategic bombing report it would have favored the interests of the U.S. investigators for the President. The survey states clearly that it was a detailed investigation of ALL the facts. The conclusion then stated is unambiguous and precise. The United States Strategic Bombing Survey was established by the Secretary of War on 3 November 1944, pursuant to a directive from the late President Roosevelt. It was established for the purpose of conducting an impartial and expert study of the effects of our aerial attack on Germany, to be used in connection with air attacks on Japan and to establish a basis for evaluating air power as an instrument of military strategy, for planning the future development of the United States armed forces, and for determining future economic policies with respect to the national defense. A summary report and some 200 supporting reports containing the findings of the Survey in Germany have been published. On 15 August 1945, President Truman requested the Survey to conduct a similar study of the effects of all types of air attack in the war against Japan. "...The Survey operated from headquarters in Tokyo, with subheadquarters in Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, and with mobile teams operating in other parts of Japan, the islands of the Pacific, and the Asiatic mainland..." "Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts, and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey's opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated." anesi.com

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (41491)	12/23/2001 10:12:44 AM
From: J. C. Dithers	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 82486

Use of atomic weapons in 1945 Hello, Lazarus. This hardly seems an appropriate weekend to post on this topic. Nevertheless, "Solon's" insistent propagandizing against his country demands response. "Solon's" research methodology Could be roughly stated as: (1) Start with open (i.e., uninformed) mind. (2) Determine desired conclusion. (3) Seek evidence with supports conclusion, ignoring all contrary facts (4) Publish conclusion, using objective language such as, "barbequeing children." In the interest of truth, here are two extracts from the report of the Chairman of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey dated 1 July 1946: The war minister and the two chiefs of staff opposed unconditional surrender. The impact of the Hiroshima attack was to bring further urgency and lubrication to the machinery of achieving peace, primarily by contributing to a situation which permitted the prime minister to bring the Emperor overtly and directly into a position where his decision for immediate acceptance of the Potsdam declaration could be used to override the remaining objectors. Thus, although the atomic bombs changed no votes of the Supreme War Direction Council concerning the Potsdam terms, they did foreshorten the war and expedite the peace. Indubitably the Hiroshima bomb and the rumor derived from interrogation of an American prisoner (B-29 pilot) who stated that an atom bomb attack on Tokyo was scheduled for 12 August introduced urgency in the minds of the government and magnified the pressure behind its move to end the war. This, to be sure, has always been the justification for the horrific devastation of the A-bombs: to foreshorten the war, to expedite surrender of an intransigent enemy, and, in the long term, to save many more lives of Americans and Japanese alike. As you point out, the morality of the decision has been a subject of debate ever since. Great leaders such as Harry S. Truman (or Lincoln, or Roosevelt) have always had to make difficult moral choices. Well-intentioned and fair-minded people are left to debate the wisdom of the choices made, with no need to be judgmental as to the character or integrity of the persons involved. That said: My very best wishes to you and your family for a joyous holiday. JC