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> One would not necessarily consider Vietnam nor Afghanistan as conventional wars, but they were lost, and nuclear strike did not happen. The US wasn’t being i

> One would not necessarily consider Vietnam nor Afghanistan as conventional wars, but they were lost, and nuclear strike did not happen. The US wasn’t being invaded and didn’t need to continue the war to prevent a future invasion in those cases. Whereas Japan would’ve continued the war and brought it back to the US mainland eventually.

cyphar 4y ago
> Whereas Japan would’ve continued the war and brought it back to the US mainland eventually. This is simply ahistoric. Japan was on the brink of loss and everyone knew it (including all of Japan's military and political leaders) -- Japan was already suing for peace long before the bombs were dropped. The main sticking point was the conditions of surrender and the Japanese were deluded (partially by the US, intentionally or not) into thinking Russia could get them more favourable surrender conditions. These delays, combined with the use of the bomb being a foregone conclusion in the minds of the US leadership regardless of Japan's stance and what seems to be at least some wish to show America's might, lead to the bombings. No reputable historian (nor the statements made by several important military figures at the time) could make a credible argument that in 1945, Japan's loss was not already a foregone conclusion irrespective of the bomb, let alone suggesting that Japan would be able to even attempt to invade the US. If the US had explicitly stated they would not try the royal family for war crimes and keep the 帝 (emperor) alive, Japan would've surrendered (this is literally the only important condition they wanted, and it's what the US was planning on doing anyway). If you'd like to watch a very long video explaining the events leading up to the bombings with a very detailed timeline: https://youtu.be/RCRTgtpC-Go https://youtu.be/RCRTgtpC-Go
denkmoon 4y ago
The WW2 nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki predate any real nuclear doctrine. I don't think they are particularly informative of nuclear doctrine today. And yes, as the other poster says, Japanese invasion of the continental US is an absurdly unrealistic proposition - even if Japan had achieved all of its wartime objectives.

cyphar 4y ago

> Whereas Japan would’ve continued the war and brought it back to the US mainland eventually. This is simply ahistoric. Japan was on the brink of loss and everyone knew it (including all of Japan's military and political leaders) -- Japan was already suing for peace long before the bombs were dropped. The main sticking point was the conditions of surrender and the Japanese were deluded (partially by the US, intentionally or not) into thinking Russia could get them more favourable surrender conditions. These delays, combined with the use of the bomb being a foregone conclusion in the minds of the US leadership regardless of Japan's stance and what seems to be at least some wish to show America's might, lead to the bombings. No reputable historian (nor the statements made by several important military figures at the time) could make a credible argument that in 1945, Japan's loss was not already a foregone conclusion irrespective of the bomb, let alone suggesting that Japan would be able to even attempt to invade the US. If the US had explicitly stated they would not try the royal family for war crimes and keep the 帝 (emperor) alive, Japan would've surrendered (this is literally the only important condition they wanted, and it's what the US was planning on doing anyway). If you'd like to watch a very long video explaining the events leading up to the bombings with a very detailed timeline: https://youtu.be/RCRTgtpC-Go https://youtu.be/RCRTgtpC-Go

denkmoon 4y ago

The WW2 nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki predate any real nuclear doctrine. I don't think they are particularly informative of nuclear doctrine today. And yes, as the other poster says, Japanese invasion of the continental US is an absurdly unrealistic proposition - even if Japan had achieved all of its wartime objectives.