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The story is incorrect on many levels, but the most important is this: The bombs did not force Japan to surrender. The threat of a third bomb did. (You can see
by MR4D 7y ago
The story is incorrect on many levels, but the most important is this:
The bombs did not force Japan to surrender. The threat of a third bomb did. (You can see the actual memo enquiring about the third bomb here - [2] )
Take that all in for a moment.
[1] - https://outrider.org/nuclear-weapons/articles/third-shot/ https://outrider.org/nuclear-weapons/articles/third-shot/
[2] - https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/72.pdf https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/72.pdf
- credit_guy 7y agoWow. I knew about Truman’s “rain of ruin” threat [1], but I always thought it was a bluff. Today I learned it was not a bluff at all. [1]https://www.trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/index.php?pid=100 https://www.trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/index.php?pid=100
- MR4D 7y agoYeah - it's amazing how poorly the history of the end of the war in the Pacific has been told. The lesson is fairly different once you learn the reality. Also, a fantastic link that you shared!