"there were brutalities on both sides, yadda, yadda"
Exactly. Brutality, violence, and evil are not racial traits. Just as compassion, rationality, and cooperation are not racial traits. Speaking Japanese does not make one evil. Speaking English does not make one moral. Language, colour, or ethnicity do not determine what is in the mind or the heart. Thank you for recognizing that.
"a panel including Enrico Fermi and J. Robert Oppenheimer recommended to Truman that a demonstration of the A-bomb was impractical"
I wonder why they thought it was "impractical"?? Again: I wonder why they thought it was "impractical"??
Most educated people (such as Einstein) were counselling a diplomatic end to the war, rather than a curb stomping.
"Petition to the President of the United States by Scientists at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory
July 17, 1945
A PETITION TO THE PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES
Discoveries of which the people of the United States are not aware may affect the welfare of this nation in the near future. The liberation of atomic power which has been achieved places atomic bombs in the hands of the Army. It places in your hands, as Commander-in-Chief, the fateful decision whether or not to sanction the use of such bombs in the present phase of the war against Japan.
We, the undersigned scientists, have been working in the field of atomic power. Until recently we have had to fear that the United States might be attacked by atomic bombs during this war and that her only defense might lie in a counterattack by the same means. Today, with the defeat of Germany, this danger is averted and we feel impelled to say what follows:
The war has to be brought speedily to a successful conclusion and attacks by atomic bombs may very well be an effective method of warfare. We feel, however, that such attacks on Japan could not be justified, at least not unless the terms which will be imposed after the war on Japan were made public in detail and Japan were given an opportunity to surrender.
If such public announcement gave assurance to the Japanese the they could look forward to a life devoted to peaceful pursuits in their homeland and if Japan still refused to surrender our nation might then, in certain circumstances, find itself forced to resort to the use of atomic bombs. Such a step, however, ought not to be made at any time without seriously considering the moral responsibilities which are involved.
The development of atomic power will provide the nations with new means of destruction. The atomic bombs at our disposal represent only the first step in this direction, and there is almost no limit to the destructive power which will become available in the course of their future development. Thus a nation which sets the precedent of using these newly liberated forces of nature for purposes of destruction may have to bear the responsibility of opening the door to an era of devastation on an unimaginable scale.
If after this war a situation is allowed to develop in the world which permits rival powers to be in uncontrolled possession of these new means of destruction, the cities of the United States as well as the cities of other nations will be in continuous danger of sudden annihilation. All the resources of the United States, moral and material, may have to be mobilized to prevent the advent of such a world situation. Its prevention is at present the solemn responsibility of the United States--singled out by virtue of her lead in the field of atomic power.
The added material strength which this lead gives to the United States brings with it the obligation of restraint and if we were to violate this obligation our moral position would be weakened in the eyes of the world and in our own eyes. It would then be more difficult for us to live up to our responsibility of bringing the unloosened forces of destruction under control.
In view of the foregoing, we, the undersigned, respectfully petition, first, that you exercise your power as Commander-in-Chief, to rule that the United States shall not resort to the use of atomic bombs in this war unless the terms which will be imposed upon Japan have been made public in detail and Japan knowing these terms has refused to surrender; second, that in such an event the question whether or not to use atomic bombs be decided by you in the light of the considerations presented in this petition as well as all the other moral responsibilities which are involved. [Signed by 69 scientists at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory]"
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Japan knew it had the option to end the war at any time by surrendering unconditionally, as Germany had. Instead, it continued to make bellicose statements about fighting to the death unless it's own demands were met. This is not the posture of a pitiful and helpless nation.
That is correct. They did have the option. But as to it not being the posture of a pitiful and helpless nation...well--indeed, it was. They were helpless and pitiful...and it was a posture that they were not.
"it was his responsibility to defeat our enemy, end the war quickly, save any more American lives, and to bring our soldiers home."
He also had a responsibility to humanity, regardless of race, colour, or creed.
"That is why he is held in high esteem among our nation's presidents."
"Together with his advisors, Truman never thought to rethink the basic principals established under the Manhattan Project's inception under Roosevelt, and therefore dropped the bomb because they believed in their heart it was the right thing to do, and never reconsidered."
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"In hindsight it appears as if there existed five major alternatives to the dropping of the atomic bombs: a non-combat demonstration, a modification of the demand for unconditional surrender, a pursuit of "Japanese peace feelers," (31)awaiting Soviet entry into the war and lastly continuing conventional warfare--aerial bombing of cities and naval blockade. Nevertheless, the first two of these are arguably the most realistic, and therefore my discussion will be limited to the first two only.
A non-combat demonstration would have entailed either dropping the bomb in a desolate area with international observers or the dropping of the bomb on an unpopulated area of Japan. This alternative was brought up twice, once on 31 May 1945 at the Interim Committee Lunch and again in the Frank Committee report on 11 June 1945.(32) The recommendation by the Scientific Panel (presided over by the four principal physicists involved in the Manhattan Project--Fermi, Lawrence, Compton and Oppenheimer) was to use the bomb only in "direct military use."(33) This recommendation was collectively embraced by Stimson, Truman, Byrnes and others because they feared that the bomb might turn out to be a "dud" and thus prove counterproductive toward intimidating the Japanese, and also because there was a severe limit to the materials on hand; as Stimson later wrote "we had no bombs to waste."(34) Thus this alternative was not pursued, for the logistical obstacles were thought to be difficult to overcome, and Allied military and political advisors were not sure the observers would be allowed to report the demonstration to the Japanese Emperor accurately.
The second alternative to dropping the bomb would have been to modify the American demand for the unconditional surrender so as to guarantee the continuance of the Japanese emperor. It was believed by many American officials that this was the single issue restraining the peace factions in Japan. After consulting with Joseph Grew and Harry Hopkins, who both believed that Japan was already on the verge of defeat, Admiral Leahy recommenced to Truman on 18 June 1945 that the demand for unconditional surrender be modified. Truman commented that he would think about it, but voiced concern over "public opinion on this matter."(35) Secretary of Stimson concurred, and in his 2 July 1945 memorandum to Truman he wrote that he advised adding the clause that while the United States demanded a "peacefully inclined government," they would "not exclude a constitutional monarchy under [Japan's] present dynasty."(36) In the end Truman did not accept this recommendation, and the Potsdam Deceleration was released without any mention of the Japanese emperor.(37) Truman made this decision because he feared that such a modification might "embolden the Japanese to fight on for better terms."(38) Ironically, when Japan's surrender was accepted on 14 August, the emperor was allowed to remain in power. Thus, this alternative to dropping the bomb was eventually embraced, but only after the bombs were dropped, when it was no longer an alternative.
Since these alternatives were not explored by Truman and his officials, we will never know if the atomic bombs were indeed a savior of lives. Still, it remains possible to consider hypothetical situations. Let us assume that Truman explored the two major alternatives above, and perhaps the three others as well. The first possibility is that the alternatives might have been successful before 1 November 1945(39). In this case the bombs were not savior of lives, but rather robbed Japan of as many as 240,000 innocent citizens.(40) The second possibility is that the alternatives would have failed, and the November invasion would have proceeded as planned. To decide if the bomb would have been a savior of lives had the alternative failed, we must guess how many Americans and Japanese would have died in the November invasion. Truman, Stimson and even some modern writers such as David McCullough, want(ed) the American public to believe that the invasion would have cost America one million casualties, but there is no evidence available to support this claim(41). In a meeting on 18 June the Joint War Plans Committee gave Truman projected death rates ranging from a low of 31,000 to a high of 50,000(42), and a projected causality rate (deaths, injuries and missing) of 132,500.(43) During fighting in the Pacific, from 1 March 1944 to 1 May 1945, the Japanese were killed at a ratio of 22 to 1.(44) Thus, if we use an estimate of 40,00 American deaths, we can extrapolate 880,000 Japanese deaths--for a combined total of 920,000 deaths. Although death rates for Hiroshima and Nagasaki vary widely, none are even half this high. Thus we can conclude that if an invasion of Kyushu had been necessary, and the Japanese were killed at a rate comparable to previous fighting, then the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki actually saved lives.(45)
The decision to drop atomic bombs of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is one of the most written about contemporary historical topics. Well over fifty major, fully-researched and unique books are accessible to the public on this fascinating topic, and perhaps as many as three hundred historical journals have been written as well.(46) Still, the majority of these articles are polarized--either the dropping of the bombs was an immoral diplomatic maneuver or a glorious military action. To anyone with a sincere desire for objectivity, a moderated view seems most reasonable, recognizing that it was a combination of military, diplomatic and domestic issues that led to Truman's decision. In addition, instead of passionately declaring the bomb to have cost innocent lives, or declaring blankly that it was without doubt a savior of lives, it seems most reasonable to conclude that we simply can not tell. Furthermore, Truman became President only weeks before making his monumental decision; he seems to have dropped the bomb simply because he never considered not dropping the bomb.(47) Together with his advisors, Truman never thought to rethink the basic principals established under the Manhattan Project's inception under Roosevelt, and therefore dropped the bomb because they believed in their heart it was the right thing to do, and never reconsidered."
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