6 ms·

> Are you saying ISIS should also be left alone and America not try to stop them? As someone who isn't from America (and actually was born in a country which w

by cyphar 10y ago

> Are you saying ISIS should also be left alone and America not try to stop them? As someone who isn't from America (and actually was born in a country which was subsequently bombed by America during peace time) I've never understood this idea that America is somehow justified in the belief that they are the moral arbiters of the world. Who put you in charge? If the answer involves "we have a big military" it's interesting that a country obsessed with the concept of freedom is so willing fall back on "empire" when it's convenient. I guess Americans are still British at heart. > Japanese civilians at the time weren't really innocent. This sentence made my blood boil. How fucking dare you. America bombing civilian residences in order to handle other country's civil wars is not helping anyone. Fuck you. > The whole country was working for the war effort, mainly to kill other Asian people. Interesting rhetoric, given that America spends half a fucking TRILLION dollars a year on the military.

briandear 10y ago
Nanjing. Unit 731. Korean comfort women, Korean cultural genocide. How do you propose we win a war against people like that? It took not one, but TWO atomic bombs to force a surrender. Tokyo was prepared to fight to the last person. The only way to win that war was to bomb them into oblivion. That was a choice the Japanese made. The Japanese military engaged in unimaginable atrocities and despite being nearly annihilated militarily, they continued to fight. How do you stop an empire with absolute zero regard for humanity? The Japanese has plenty of opportunities to surrender but they kept fighting and fighting and fighting. As far as America's military budget, the raw numbers are irrelevant, what is relevant is percentage of GDP. The US ranks 11th in the world at 3.3% with 18 countries at 2% or higher. So the "half a trillion" hyperbole is silly. The US also spends a half trillion on government-funded R&D spending and spends a higher percentage (and raw amount) than the entire EU. The US also is ranked number 2 in spending on renewable energy. The US also spends more on swimming pools, airports, and education than any other country. They spend more in health care than anyone else as well. My point, citing half a trillion as some kind of outrageous amount is ridiculous given the US GDP is $18 TRILLION per year. The US also ranks 18th in the world on per capita GDP behind such countries such as Luxembourg, Ireland, Monaco and Brunei. The US military is highly visible and obviously subject to a lot of criticism, but how many people talk about the French Army's frequent and continual adventures in Africa? France has forward deployed troops all across sub-Saharan Africa. How about the British Army in the Baltics and Poland? The British Army in Kenya and Sierra Leon? It's fair enough to debate military tactics, however acting like the United States is some kind of military outlier just isn't supported by the facts. On a per capita basis and as a percentage of GDP, the US military isn't all that remarkable in terms of expenditures.
- krapp 10y ago
  >The Japanese has plenty of opportunities to surrender but they kept fighting and fighting and fighting. It's odd how this is portrayed as a negative aspect of Japan's militarism, when the Allies were fighting the same war with the same attitude.
  - quirkafleeg 10y ago
    Particularly when it's not even true. The Japanese wanted to surrender long before the Bomb was dropped, on condition that the Emperor remain in place. The US insisted on unconditional surrender, prolonging the fighting and resulting in the atom bomb attacks, then ended up accepting the Japanese condition anyway.
    - PerfectDlite 10y ago
      > then ended up accepting the Japanese condition anyway What?? Japan was forced to accept Allies' condition.
      - quirkafleeg 10y ago
        As I said in my post, the essential Japanese condition for surrender was that the Emperor remain in place. After rejecting that, thus prolonging the war and using the atom bombs, the US ended up keeping the Emperor in place (ie accepting the previous Japanese condition) anyway.
        krapp 10y ago
        I may be wrong, but I believe the Japanese wanted the Emperor to remain in place and retain his power - the US was merely willing to not kill him as long as he remained a figurehead and publicly renounced any claims to authority.
        quirkafleeg 10y ago
dang 10y ago
On HN, please don't react by going into a rage when someone else says a terrible thing. It does no good and only pulls us further into a downward spiral.

by cyphar 10y ago

briandear 10y ago

Nanjing. Unit 731. Korean comfort women, Korean cultural genocide. How do you propose we win a war against people like that? It took not one, but TWO atomic bombs to force a surrender. Tokyo was prepared to fight to the last person. The only way to win that war was to bomb them into oblivion. That was a choice the Japanese made. The Japanese military engaged in unimaginable atrocities and despite being nearly annihilated militarily, they continued to fight. How do you stop an empire with absolute zero regard for humanity? The Japanese has plenty of opportunities to surrender but they kept fighting and fighting and fighting. As far as America's military budget, the raw numbers are irrelevant, what is relevant is percentage of GDP. The US ranks 11th in the world at 3.3% with 18 countries at 2% or higher. So the "half a trillion" hyperbole is silly. The US also spends a half trillion on government-funded R&D spending and spends a higher percentage (and raw amount) than the entire EU. The US also is ranked number 2 in spending on renewable energy. The US also spends more on swimming pools, airports, and education than any other country. They spend more in health care than anyone else as well. My point, citing half a trillion as some kind of outrageous amount is ridiculous given the US GDP is $18 TRILLION per year. The US also ranks 18th in the world on per capita GDP behind such countries such as Luxembourg, Ireland, Monaco and Brunei. The US military is highly visible and obviously subject to a lot of criticism, but how many people talk about the French Army's frequent and continual adventures in Africa? France has forward deployed troops all across sub-Saharan Africa. How about the British Army in the Baltics and Poland? The British Army in Kenya and Sierra Leon? It's fair enough to debate military tactics, however acting like the United States is some kind of military outlier just isn't supported by the facts. On a per capita basis and as a percentage of GDP, the US military isn't all that remarkable in terms of expenditures.

krapp 10y ago
>The Japanese has plenty of opportunities to surrender but they kept fighting and fighting and fighting. It's odd how this is portrayed as a negative aspect of Japan's militarism, when the Allies were fighting the same war with the same attitude.
- quirkafleeg 10y ago
  Particularly when it's not even true. The Japanese wanted to surrender long before the Bomb was dropped, on condition that the Emperor remain in place. The US insisted on unconditional surrender, prolonging the fighting and resulting in the atom bomb attacks, then ended up accepting the Japanese condition anyway.
  - PerfectDlite 10y ago
    > then ended up accepting the Japanese condition anyway What?? Japan was forced to accept Allies' condition.
    - quirkafleeg 10y ago
      As I said in my post, the essential Japanese condition for surrender was that the Emperor remain in place. After rejecting that, thus prolonging the war and using the atom bombs, the US ended up keeping the Emperor in place (ie accepting the previous Japanese condition) anyway.
      - krapp 10y ago
        I may be wrong, but I believe the Japanese wanted the Emperor to remain in place and retain his power - the US was merely willing to not kill him as long as he remained a figurehead and publicly renounced any claims to authority.
        quirkafleeg 10y ago

dang 10y ago

On HN, please don't react by going into a rage when someone else says a terrible thing. It does no good and only pulls us further into a downward spiral.