mikegarrison

The irony, of course, is that we only had two bombs. It wasn't like we could have kept dropping a bomb every three days. But they didn't know that.

The whole thing is very complicated. By this time in the war all participants had gone into "total war", where cities were considered legitimate targets. But Japan was finished anyway, and was bound to be forced to surrender soon. On the other hand, Germany was finished but kept fighting until well after it was invaded from two sides at once. Truman was undoubtably eager to avoid the invasion of the Japanese mainland.

I think the biggest moral question was whether Truman was using the bomb to end the war, or whether he was really using the war situation as a way to demonstrate the bomb and cement the post-war position of the US. There is also an element of the US using the attacks as live fire tests of the bomb -- they deliberately picked cities that had not already been heavily damaged.

In the end, though, I think the best possible outcome is if people are still talking about "the only two cities ever to attacked with nuclear weapons" one or two hundred years from now.

Ulrich

An interesting series of articles from the German magazine Der Spiegel:

Part 1: The Bomb that Was Meant for Hitler

Part 2: "My God, What Have We Done?"

Part 3: The Cold War Heats Up

valentine

Quote below from the following site:
LANL


"A Call to Arms
The Los Alamos Laboratory, or Project Y, came into existence in early 1943 for a single purpose: to design and build an atomic bomb. The United States knew little about the German atomic program, but the specter of a nuclear-equipped Hitler could not be ignored. As American soldiers trudged through the deserts of North Africa, braved the Normandy beaches, and bled for every yard of distant Iwo Jima and Okinawa, American scientists raced to unlock the power of the atom.
On May 8, 1945, hostilities ceased in Europe, but war raged on in the Pacific as the armed forces of Imperial Japan grew more determined with each setback. By the summer of 1945 Japan

cordycord

We had this same discussion over in the political thread, where I keep most of my "pointed comments" nowadays. One point I brought up is that the incendiary bombing of Tokyo actually produced more casualties than either a-bomb. That big "boom" does seem to make a point, though.

As for Truman, I think he saved a lot of lives on both sides of the pond.

dlq04

60 years later, what the Japanese think:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/...s/VJ-Japan.php

Berlina#2290

i'm sure if they dropped those bombs on L.A. and Chicago no one would think it was a good idea. and im sure that we would say that they were wrong for doing so, at least pearl harbor was a military base.
whatever though. its always a good idea when its not u.s. civilians incinerated instantly, im just trying to put myself in someone elses shoes for a change, try it out.

cordycord

In forty hours I shall be in battle; with little information; and on the spur of the moment will have to make the most momentous decisions; But I believe that one`s spirit enlarges with responsibility and that; with God`s help; I shall make them; and make them right.
--General George S. Patton

GTFCTIM

Yes.

silverfoxs2k

No one can imagine the angst that decision created in Truman. They were horrible events but in my opinion, a right decision for two reasons. First it brought an end to bloody war in the pacific. The Japanese leaders and military did not consider surrender or failure an option and would have continued to send troops to die for the Emperor until there were no more to send. Secondly the demonstration of power and destruction made everyone in the world think twice about the escalation of the arms race. No sane leader would ever want to use nukes again. This led to the disarming of nukes by the Soviets and US and reasonable nations. Had we not seen this example, someone would have gotten trigger happy and started a launch and retaliation that would have made Japan look like a flesh wound. The US and others threatened nukes but it would have only been the most extreme situation where we would actually use them because we had seen first hand just how powerful they could be.

dlq04

I like your side-by-side before and after photos.