On the nuclear bombing of Japan.

[TheUniverse]

I never understood the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Why did we choose civilian targets? Especially ones with such a high population? Why did we bomb Nagasaki just three days later? Why didn't we give them time to consider surrender, considering we weren't even gonna invade Japan for many more months? Why did we need to kill another 100,000? Does anyone consider both of the Nuclear bombs to be justified? I never did, and I considered it an action of a war criminal. I remember reading a poll that said at the time, 85 percent of the people supported both the bombs. Its insane that people are so happy about the mass bombing of civilians. God forbid us if two nuclear powers ever go to war with each other. People will cheer on the end of the world.

[1monster]

1. The war was over in Europe. Russia was planning on entering into the

Pacific War.

The other Allies definitely did not want Stalin and his Soviet Union slurping up huge pieces of Asia (remember,Mao was marching through China during WWII and had all of China under his control by 1949).

The "Better Dead Than Red" scare was beginning.

The powers that were wanted the Pacific War to end before Stalin could enter and claim the spoils of victory.

Not a good reason, but I hope that those who made the decision to drop both bombs had little or no idea of the continuing devastation that would ensue from the dropping of the atomic bombs.

I hope, but considering that the US has been using depleted uranium weapons in Iraq since the first Gulf War, I am not sure I believe.

The US has become The Evil Empire.

(P.S. the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were atomic bombs, not nuclear. The devastation would have been even more horrendous had they dropped the still undeveloped nuclear bombs on Japan.)

[Pavulon]

3. Read ..

Rhodes, Richard (1986). The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-44133-7.

The bombs were nuclear, all nuclear weapons are nuclear. They were single stage fission bombs.

You are thinking of two stage weapons (h bomb, "super", they are thermonuclear fission/fusion weapons.

You comments are one opinion proposed by some but are not generally accepted.

[Pavulon]

2. There are great resources

available that give balanced views on this subject. You will see a ever greater toll in lives paid by BOTH sides as the war came closer to Japan. 100,000 civilians in okinawa is a conservative estimate.

The most important thing here is not applying current logic and understanding of the bomb to 1945.

BTW the bomb was nuclear. There were two types, both single stage fission bombs. One implosion bomb and one uranium gun device.

They were happy because their children would not die in an invasion of japan.

WW2 and the politics then are massive subjects often taken far out of context by those with an agenda not based on historical fact.

[TheUniverse]

4. But my main complaint is.

WHy did we drop a second 3 days later. Shouldn't we have given them time surrender?

[Pavulon]

5. They declined to surrender

after the first bomb. This is a topic that tends to polarize and boils down to trying to handicap a 60 year old call.

[TheUniverse]

6. That was 3 days...

We sure as hell could have given them more than 3 days.

[Pavulon]

8. We could have

but we did not. 3 days, 7, or 14, arbitrary. Again this is a very well documented subject that has lots of facets..

[TheUniverse]

12. It could have made the difference between 100,000 lives.

Nothing arbitary about that...

[Rhythm and Blue]

13. It wouldn't have.

It would take only several hours for the Emperor and his generals to meet and vote on a surrender. No word of a surrender had come after three days. You do the math.

[Pavulon]

14. Imperial Japan was aware of the demand

they had been for many months.

[Rhythm and Blue]

10. Why? We demanded an unconditional surrender.

No terms to consider, other than "You lay down your arms, and then agree to whatever we tell you afterwards." Either you do or you don't. We had told them at Potsdam, months prior, that the Japanese would be utterly destroyed if an unconditional surrender was not forthcoming. After the first bomb, it wasn't.

We had given them enough time to reply, and they didn't. Any time we could have given would have been arbitrary anyway.

[Rhythm and Blue]

7. As others have said, they declined a surrender,

and a critical part of the plan was making it appear (as outlined in the Potsdam resolution) as if the complete destruction of the Japanese homeland would be imminent if they did not surrender. (And really, there's not much to consider. We demanded an unconditional surrender. The only terms they had to consider were "yes" and "no.")

One bomb, maybe we spent everything on building one superweapon, and that's all we got. Two bombs in three days? We can produce more of them, and we can drop them until Japan no longer exists.

[nealmhughes]

11. Potsdam was the reiteration of the Cairo Conference which also demanded U. S.

The texts of both declarations are clear: unconditional surrender and immediate cessation of hostilities for both Gemany and Japan at Cairo.

Even though the Germans tried to make a separate peace under Jodl, it was not accepted, and the surrender was accepted at Rheims and then in Berlin the next day by the Russians and Allies (the Russians were unable to get to Rheims).

The Japanese High Command with the Emperor as the voting chair decided not to surrender after the first atomic bomb. After the second, they did with Hirohito breaking the tie.

The Potsdam Conference clearly states what the aims were towards Japan: complete inability for them to gain an expansion ever again.

[Bitwit1234]

9. The US has sustained a lot of causalities and

they were going to invade Japan. The troops were ready a dear friend of mine who has passed away told me this. They are all prepared with landing gear etc. President Truman was urged to drop the bomb to prevent the deaths of thousands of more Americans. He sent a message to Hirohito and asked him to surrender. He say no, he wouldn't. Then Truman dropped the bomb. After a day they sent another request to surrender, he said no...and they dropped the second. After that he surrendered. It is the same old story the rulers don't care about the causalities of the ones doing the fighting.

But thank goodness President Truman had the guts to make, I think, the right decision. He saved all those Americans. It was sad that he dropped the bombs. But it is Hirohito's fault. He was asked before each bomb and he said no. Remember THEY are the ones who prepared a sneak attack on this country. Bush invaded Iraq but he told Saddam before hand he was going to.