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> "The target will be a purely military one" Dropping such bombs on cities cannot be said to be "purely military". Was Truman really not aware of the targets,
by dbdr 9y ago
> "The target will be a purely military one"
Dropping such bombs on cities cannot be said to be "purely military". Was Truman really not aware of the targets, or was he being dishonest in his diary?
According to the Wikipedia article [1], Truman was not in the Target Committee, but he was for instance approached about removing Kyoto from the list, so he was aware of the nature of the possible targets.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki#Choice_of_targets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_a...
- caf 9y agoI suggest reading the last link above, particularly the conclusions about Truman's knowledge towards the end.
- dbdr 9y agoThank you. It's highly disturbing that such decision could be made with the president not understanding what he is ordering, and not being presented with other options (the "demonstration" before directly bombing a city).
- caf 9y agoGroves originally pushed back against the very idea that the military wouldn't be the ones choosing the targets!