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Yes the US bombed two cities with civilians, however remember that we were in a state of total war with them, and the contemporary analysis predicted far far hi

Yes the US bombed two cities with civilians, however remember that we were in a state of total war with them, and the contemporary analysis predicted far far higher death toll into the millions using traditional methods. Most Japanese soldiers fought to the death rather than surrender, and those unable to fight were to commit suicide. Civilian populations were being prepared for civilian resistance in force, as in attacking with bamboo spears. It would have been a door to door fight with death tolls in the millions on both sides. Death tolls predicted by both side were unimaginable. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall#Operation_Ketsug%C5%8D https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall#Operation_K...) It is easy to judge the actions of our grandparents and great grandparents with the information and technology we have now and 80 years distance. Were we in their place I am not sure we would have made a different decision given the information and technology of the time. Further given the difference in death toll predicted with the alternative and the death toll attributed to the bombing, while the results are heart rending and horrifying I am not convinced it was ultimately the wrong decision.

sashank_1509 2y ago
Perhaps you should ask what was the motivation of the United States in being in a total war with Japan? Why couldn’t the US accept peace terms, (something the Japanese repeatedly requested), why did the US need Japan to unconditionally surrender, to the point that the US got to rewrote their constitution? (And entertain the thought of hanging their king) I’m not asking if you think this outcome is right, or if you have some post-hoc justification now, I’m asking if you know what justification the US made to themselves in 1940’s to enter total war with Japan, that led them to kill 200,000+ civilians with 2 Nuclear Bombs, and a Tokyo Fire Raid to force Japan to surrender. The past if you really try to understand it was a different country, in our past the Life Magazine of 1944 wrote a story of a soldiers girlfriend receiving a Japanese Skull as a gift with incredible quotes like : “This is a good Jap—a dead one picked up on the New Guinea beach.” Natalie, surprised at the gift, named it Tojo.” (Link: https://time.com/3880997/young-woman-with-jap-skull-portrait-of-a-grisly-wwii-memento/ https://time.com/3880997/young-woman-with-jap-skull-portrait...) The typical response to this from present folk is that “But the Japanese did the Rape of Nanking, and other atrocities”, which almost implies (though the astute never explicitly make this implication), that the US fought the Japanese to right all the atrocities that the Japanese were doing in Pacific region. No one who studies history will ever claim this, if you do study history, it’s hard to not see US as a deceitful bully with lunatic tendencies. One reading of our history that I find may not be the whole truth but certainly has a lot of truth to it, is that Japan was a pawn used by the US Government to drum up support for US to enter WW2, something most of the intelligentsia in US desperately wanted to do, but were always hampered by lack of public appetite to involve itself in this bloody conflict on the other side of the world. Unfortunately a side effect of playing this role for Japan was getting bombed into oblivion when you refused to surrender your sovereignty to the allied powers.
- smegger001 2y ago
  >Perhaps you should ask what was the motivation of the United States in being in a total war with Japan? Easy the attack at Pearl Harbor. you try to brush away all of the atrocities at not being the reason for the US entry into the war, but the US was placing sanctions and trade embargo on japan because of the thing like the Rape of Nanjing prior to the war. The Japanese in response attacked the US at Pearl Harbor without declaration of war. Then proceeded to commit more atrocities against captured US troops, thing like unit 731 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_crimes#Human_experimentation_and_biological_warfare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_crimes#Human_expe...) rival the horror done Mengele. As for your conspiracy theory that Japan was a pawn of some American deep state and it was being used as an excuse to enter ww2, the US wouldn't have even gone into Europe after pearl harbor had Hitler not declared war on the US in a act of solidarity with Japan.

sashank_1509 2y ago

Perhaps you should ask what was the motivation of the United States in being in a total war with Japan? Why couldn’t the US accept peace terms, (something the Japanese repeatedly requested), why did the US need Japan to unconditionally surrender, to the point that the US got to rewrote their constitution? (And entertain the thought of hanging their king) I’m not asking if you think this outcome is right, or if you have some post-hoc justification now, I’m asking if you know what justification the US made to themselves in 1940’s to enter total war with Japan, that led them to kill 200,000+ civilians with 2 Nuclear Bombs, and a Tokyo Fire Raid to force Japan to surrender. The past if you really try to understand it was a different country, in our past the Life Magazine of 1944 wrote a story of a soldiers girlfriend receiving a Japanese Skull as a gift with incredible quotes like : “This is a good Jap—a dead one picked up on the New Guinea beach.” Natalie, surprised at the gift, named it Tojo.” (Link: https://time.com/3880997/young-woman-with-jap-skull-portrait-of-a-grisly-wwii-memento/ https://time.com/3880997/young-woman-with-jap-skull-portrait...) The typical response to this from present folk is that “But the Japanese did the Rape of Nanking, and other atrocities”, which almost implies (though the astute never explicitly make this implication), that the US fought the Japanese to right all the atrocities that the Japanese were doing in Pacific region. No one who studies history will ever claim this, if you do study history, it’s hard to not see US as a deceitful bully with lunatic tendencies. One reading of our history that I find may not be the whole truth but certainly has a lot of truth to it, is that Japan was a pawn used by the US Government to drum up support for US to enter WW2, something most of the intelligentsia in US desperately wanted to do, but were always hampered by lack of public appetite to involve itself in this bloody conflict on the other side of the world. Unfortunately a side effect of playing this role for Japan was getting bombed into oblivion when you refused to surrender your sovereignty to the allied powers.

smegger001 2y ago
>Perhaps you should ask what was the motivation of the United States in being in a total war with Japan? Easy the attack at Pearl Harbor. you try to brush away all of the atrocities at not being the reason for the US entry into the war, but the US was placing sanctions and trade embargo on japan because of the thing like the Rape of Nanjing prior to the war. The Japanese in response attacked the US at Pearl Harbor without declaration of war. Then proceeded to commit more atrocities against captured US troops, thing like unit 731 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_crimes#Human_experimentation_and_biological_warfare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_crimes#Human_expe...) rival the horror done Mengele. As for your conspiracy theory that Japan was a pawn of some American deep state and it was being used as an excuse to enter ww2, the US wouldn't have even gone into Europe after pearl harbor had Hitler not declared war on the US in a act of solidarity with Japan.