[StBernard] New HBO documentary of the atomic bomb drops on Japan

[Westley Annis]

Jim,

I absolutely agree with you.  Aside from the provactive nature of my
previous comments, here are a few facts the "don't use the bomb" group (back
then and even today) hate to acknowledge.  The U.S. government (as well as
the Japanese government) have both stated that had the bombs not be dropped
and the war completed by the U.S. invading Japan and defeating the Japs by
conventional methods, an estimated 150,000 additional American military
personnel would have been killed and an additional 175,000 Japanese.  Plus,
"traditional" bombings would have escalated to a never seen before rate
where the Japan estimates anywhere from 200,000 to a quarter million
civilians would have been killed.  That's far less than the number killed by
the bombs.

Yes, even the Japanese government has acknowledged that dropping the bombs
likely reduced the potential number lives lost - not to mention our boys
100,000 plus.

President Truman repeated said his decision to drop the bomb was never
revenge, but to bring a quicker end to the war, to save American lives and
to set an example to the world should any country ever again have aggressive
intentions.

Sure, I'm sorry it had to come to that.  But make to mistake about
it...Japan started it by atacking the United States - who did not provoke
them, and they could have easily surrendered after Hiroshima.  For the
record, after we dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, the U.S. formally addressed
Japan on the issue of surrender or just a cease fire - they did not even
respond to our contact after many days.  Japan brought Nagasaki on itself.
That's why many Japanese lost faith in the Emperor, blaming him for the
unnecessary drop on Nagasaki.

Japan started a war they should have realized they could not win - and they
were damned fools if they thought they were going to get assistance from the
Nazis.  Hitler often spoke of his distain for the Japanese.  As the Japanese
ambassador to the U.S. said upon learning of the un-provoked attack on Pearl
Harbor..."I am afraid we have woken a sleeping bear."  He was right.  Just
as Bin Laden, the Taliban and Huessen recently learned the hard way.

- John Scurich

-----Original Message-----
My understanding is that we offered the Japanese several opportunities to
surrender and they would not.  I believe they were advised that they would
suffer destruction such as had never before had been witnessed and they
still fought on.

They were warned, they fought on, they lost.  End of story.

Jim