"Brenda Ann" wrote in message n

2) We should not have bombed hundreds of thousands of civilians into vapor.
Yes, there were military targets in the area, but that does not, and cannot,
excuse the deaths of so many civilians, any more than Al Qaida can be
excused for the deaths at the WTC.

It probably could have been avoided. But the people involved blew it.
"Mainly at the top". We were already close to winning the war at that
point. But the mindset of the people and the military left little
regard for the Japanese at that point of the war. They did have it
coming, but we might have gotten carried away a bit. The people that
built the bomb, never expected it to be as powerful as it was. After
they tested it, many that built it didn't think it should be used. But
the people that ran things at the top didn't really care, or realize
just how powerful it was. All they wanted to do was get Japan to
surrender. Either by bomb or a mainland strike. But due to ignoring
the best advice at that time, they blew any chances of a diplomatic
end to the war. Only a very few people here, really had any idea how
the Japanese people thought about things. A former ambassador to
Japan, knew how they thought, and gave the best suggestions to the
text in the pact offered. But others altered the text to where it left
the Japanese no way out but to keep fighting. At that point,
protecting the emperor, who was viewed as a god, was the ONLY real
concern of the Japanese in favor of ending the war. But the original
pact gave the emperor no real consideration to staying in power. Why?
Because they altered the text that the former ambassador proposed. If
they had left the original text as is, which the former ambassador
pleaded to do until the last minute, the bomb *may* well have been
avoided.

But I still have no overwhelming pangs of guilt myself, because
#1, they started the whole mess by bombing us. Severely, I might add.
#2, the Japanese did prove to be very brutal and vicious in war. They
were the first to use methods that we would have considered criminal
before that war. Mainly their treatment of captured solders.
My grandfather fought in the Pacific on many islands, and there is no
doubt they would have slit his throat for a nickel had they captured
him.
#3 I wasn't even born yet, and had nothing to do with it.

Myself, I would have never bombed a city full of civilians if I had
been president at that time. I would have found a suitable Japanese
military group or base to use as an example, and to give a
demonstration of the bombs power first.
I would have gave them a good touch up, aimed at the right people,
maybe even over the ocean nearby. But not totally destroy a city with
many civilians in it. Being they were about to cave in anyway, that
probably would have done the trick. I think that would have been
preferable to a mainland invasion, and saved lives. Also they were
very scared of Russia and that would have been a factor. But Truman
did use it as he did, good or bad, and there is nothing we can do
about it now. Maybe the present and future people can use it as a
useful lesson, but I sort of doubt they will pay any attention. Using
the bomb caused us many problems on down the road. We would have never
been in an arms race with Russia, if we hadn't used the bomb. Might
have never had a Korean war, because we *might* have ended the war
before Russia invaded that area. "July instead of August" Russia
invaded Korea in the final days of the war, if I remember right. The
world would have ended up quite different. It's all armchair
quarterback talk at this point nearly 60 years later...People now
don't think like they did then. Even in the US. It was very patriotic
to kick a Japanese's butt in those days. I doubt that many of the
general population had that much of a problem with it. But of course,
like now, they were kept in the dark like mushrooms. All they knew was
we were finally kicking their tails into the ground, and ending the
war. MK