Should the U.S. Have Dropped the A-Bomb?

[Ryoko]

From everything as a kid, in school, and thereafter

That war was won. Japan caved.

We dropped the bomb anyway as planned. For multple reasons.

-Test new weapon
-Seal the surrender
-Statement to the world

*edit

And history channel.

BTW did you know a lot of the crewmen of the bombers either suicided years later, or landed in a mental hospital?

[Xyzzzy]

Kind of interesting that so many people believe that. I'll have to look into it, I never really knew that Japan was weak at that point.
All that was mentioned about it was that, some people believed it, but it was dismissed as if it were just the radicals who tell of our impending doom because of a mutant spaghetti monster.

[Ryoko]

Well, they wernt "weak" but the battle of midway and naval campaigns after crippled them pretty badly. That was the turning point of the war. It was all downhill for them after.

Japan was trying to "negote" surrender on various basis, but the bombs said "no." Uncompromised unconditional surrender.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrender_of_Japan

[XemnasXD]

no Japan really was exhausted by the end of the war. Another thing ppl forget is that the Japanese expanded to control most of the populations territory as well as parts of china and the rest of the asia mainland. By the time we dropped the bombs that Japanese only had japan left and some parts of china. They lost alot of ground and alot of troops trying to defend such a large area and they paid the price for it Russia was closing on on the mainland and the US was closing in by sea in fact we had already landed on the island when the bombs were dropped i think we captured Okinawa. The Japanese political and military base was the emperor If he had been captured or assassinated along with his heirs the Japanese would probably lost heart and surrendered they cared that much about his well-being but by then theres nothing they could've done.

[Pilot]

What most ppl overlook is that the Japanese military was all but defeated by the time we dropped the bomb. You guys keeping mentioning how we would've lost so many more troops if we invaded but thats not they truth, we probably wouldn't have lost that many at all. It was the Japanese Gov't which was still resilient to surrender as most of the military were wiped out, deserted, or had become PoW. The bomb was dropped as an experiment nothing more, the Military wanted to see its new toy in action and show the world what the US was capable of.

Even after taking all that into consideration was it really necessary to drop 2 bomb when one would've easily sufficed, keep in mind these bombs were not dropped on area of major gov't activity or military areas or even strategic points they were cites full of civilians who had nothing to do with the war. It would be like exactly like someone dropping a bomb on Detroit because of the war in Iraq, it would be seen as an act of terrorism today and it should've been seen as an act of terrorism then.

Thats true, yes, with the US government aware of the upcoming power battle with the USSR, the atomic bomb played a big role in flexing US muscles in show. However, all your other points are invalid.

We would have lost massive numbers of troops. And if you opened your eyes a bit, you would realize that even more "civilian" lives would have been lost too. They weren't even civilian any more. Kids old enough to carry sharpened bamboo sticks/bombs were recruited and trained to fight against the US invasion. And no, remnants of Japanese military did exist-Japan was not completely free of soldiers.

No, it definitely was NOT an experiment-we were finished with that back in the deserts of Arizona. By the time America was ready to use it, the a-bomb was a fully capable BOMB. A WEAPON.

Yes, of course 2 bombs were necessary in bringing the war to a close. After the first drop on Hiroshima, the Japanese government showed no reaction and no surrender. 3 Days were given, and the second was dropped on Nagasaki. Its also important to note that Tokyo was deliberately avoided as a target. "Military" buildings were already destroyed by American firebombing, which is another controversy coexisting with the atomic bomb, and which I actually criticize. Firebombing was completely unnecessary.

Why is this debate even necessary? What are those professors and dicks who bitch about this going to do? Invent a time machine and change history? Its over-the most we can do is to learn how to handle issues like that in the future-debating this wont bring those thousands of people back to life again.

[Ryoko]

They knew it worked from "arizona".

They also wanted to see it in the field and its impact.

Japan didnt surrender right away because they were trying to negotiate on their terms.

We said "no."

And "statement to the world" I will stand by that. A muscle flex. We are the US. We have big bad nasty weapon. Behold its power.

Dont get me wrong though. Im no war-protestor.

[dom]

The war was won, the bombing was uncalledfor and unjustified, imo.

Talk about uncalled for.

+agree

[Pilot]

Im no war-protestor.

[Ryoko]

^_^

Nope. Wont see me with banners half naked and stuff painted on my chest about how terrible war is because we lost only... 1k troops over 2 years or something.

[Xyzzzy]

we lost only... 1k troops over 2 years or something.

That's back to the point where the death toll is a statistic again, but in reality that is 1000 people's lives affecting thousands more around them.

Am I beating a dead horse here? -.-

[Ryoko]

More people die from cancer. Is the media exploding that with protestors in the streets throwing a shit fit over it? No

Theyre buying little wrist bands and pink products from companies that dont even give the profit to cancer reasearch and doing marches and parades that dont change a damn thing or raise money for the research itself in any way

If you want to talk statistics.... I digress. Sorry. I r off topic.

[Xyzzzy]

More people beating a dead horse

OMG
I just read the quote in your sig
I lol'd so hard

[Pilot]

Its war. Not major, nation to nation, fight to the end war, but still a war. Soldiers die. And when you sign up for any military, dying is the part of the job you accept to live with. Of course its sad to see soldiers come back in coffins or on crutches, but like I said, its a war, and America has gone through quite a lot of wars to get accustomed to that. Over 50,000 terrorist scum have been killed/detained by US and allied forces. You may not always win wars with statistics, but it proves how much progress we've made and what a shitload of terrorist ass we're kicking over there.

[Ryoko]

Ha ha yeah =) shes crazy.

Sorry my point really was, like if you look at WW2 and vietnam and the number of people lost, its astromical by todays standards. Today, like I said if even 5 civilians are hurt in a tactical strike were jack the ripper and its all over the news, sending out public apologies with officials standing down from their positions.

[Xyzzzy]

Its war. Not major, nation to nation, fight to the end war, but still a war. Soldiers die. And when you sign up for any military, dying is the part of the job you accept to live with. Of course its sad to see soldiers come back in coffins or on crutches, but like I said, its a war, and America has gone through quite a lot of wars to get accustomed to that. Over 50,000 terrorist scum have been killed/detained by US and allied forces. You may not always win wars with statistics, but it proves how much progress we've made and what a shitload of terrorist ass we're kicking over there.

Not to start a fresh arguement here, but that statistic delves into the realm of
Are they really a thread to us?
How many actually would have harmed others?
Are we wasting our time?
Blah blah blah

sorry lol

Ha ha yeah =) shes crazy.

Sorry my point really was, like if you look at WW2 and vietnam and the number of people lost, its astromical by todays standards. Today, like I said if even 5 civilians are hurt in a tactical strike were jack the ripper and its all over the news, sending out public apologies with officials standing down from their positions.

When you had said that before, I wasn't truly sure what you were driving at, but yeah I agree.

[Ryoko]

Aye

The fact we incendiary bombed cities in germany and japan and burnt them and their civilians to the ground in masses, compared to today where its ZOMG a civilian was hurt!

Times change though. Its amazing though how its changed; from tactics like that to smaller, tactical teams and technology that produce nearly the same results with less loss all around.

[Pilot]

Its war. Not major, nation to nation, fight to the end war, but still a war. Soldiers die. And when you sign up for any military, dying is the part of the job you accept to live with. Of course its sad to see soldiers come back in coffins or on crutches, but like I said, its a war, and America has gone through quite a lot of wars to get accustomed to that. Over 50,000 terrorist scum have been killed/detained by US and allied forces. You may not always win wars with statistics, but it proves how much progress we've made and what a shitload of terrorist ass we're kicking over there.

Not to start a fresh arguement here, but that statistic delves into the realm of
Are they really a thread to us?
How many actually would have harmed others?
Are we wasting our time?
Blah blah blah

sorry lol

The Middle East and some parts of Africa have always been a threat to the US and its allies. So has China, North Korea. When you're a superpower with one of the highest standards of living in the world, strongest military, and high GDP, you're bound to get jealous and envious stares. In the case of the Middle East, its the jewish thing + jealousy = anti-Americanism.

Yes, we are wasting our time, actually, or at least Bush the Dousche is. The entire Middle East, their religion, mindset, attitude, is already wired to hate Westerners. Best to leave them squabbling and fighting with the jews and not get into the mess we already got ourselves in.

Aye

The fact we incendiary bombed cities in germany and japan and burnt them and their civilians to the ground in masses, compared to today where its ZOMG a civilian was hurt!

Times change though.

It didn't change really. WWII is indisputably the single war costing humanity the greatest number of lives. It was literally fought all over the world, and it was something called total war. If a war like that were to break out again at a scale as massive as that, people would have little care about "civilians" when winning the war is the single most important point for nations. Because the scale of this war is so small, nations are far more careful about where they're landing a smart bomb because it will, as you said, be more noticeable.

[Xyzzzy]

Aye

The fact we incendiary bombed cities in germany and japan and burnt them and their civilians to the ground in masses, compared to today where its ZOMG a civilian was hurt!

Times change though. Its amazing though how its changed; from tactics like that to smaller, tactical teams and technology that produce nearly the same results with less loss all around.

But military maneuvers on such a large scale are by far one of the most entertaining things to learn about. You will probably never see massive air battles and naval battles like the Battle Of Midway ever again.
Even through all of the death and destruction, war on a scale like that is and awesome force.

@ Pilot

LOL I love how you post

[theblindarcher]

Yes we should have because we lsot alot of US soldiers at Japan there were great causlties at the battle of Iwo Jima and at Pearl harbor.

[Stallowned]

....

Gotta say that wasa pretty dumbassed post.

[Reise]

I'm pretty sure the reason people flip out whenever somebody dies overseas now is because Iraq technically isn't a war. It's an insurgency if anything. We crushed Iraq's military back in Desert Storm. So whenever somebody dies by an IED or something it's more publicized not just because of the media presence, but because it's more like a murder than a war casualty.

[Squirt]

All is fair in love and war....

Yes it was ok, But no the innocent people should not have died

And for PEarl Harbor i could care less, They are in the navy at war.. they should have seen it coming... I did feel bad for Cuba gooding Jr though he almost got shot in that movie =/

[Reise]

Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor weren't at war at all. They were far from it as far as they knew, the enemy at the time was an ocean away.

[Squirt]

Yes but it is the damn navy they should be alert 24/7
i saw the movie ok! they were all asleep and cuba gooding almost lost his life1
Was that the one with tom hanks?

[Xyzzzy]

Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor weren't at war at all. They were far from it as far as they knew, the enemy at the time was an ocean away.

There were fortellings of Japans attack though. The only problem was at the time, no organized intelligence service had been created, and what little information we had went unused do to that fact.

[Stallowned]

squirt what country do you live in? if you say the us you need to gtfo

[Jstar1]

What most ppl overlook is that the Japanese military was all but defeated by the time we dropped the bomb. You guys keeping mentioning how we would've lost so many more troops if we invaded but thats not they truth, we probably wouldn't have lost that many at all. It was the Japanese Gov't which was still resilient to surrender as most of the military were wiped out, deserted, or had become PoW. The bomb was dropped as an experiment nothing more, the Military wanted to see its new toy in action and show the world what the US was capable of.

Even after taking all that into consideration was it really necessary to drop 2 bomb when one would've easily sufficed, keep in mind these bombs were not dropped on area of major gov't activity or military areas or even strategic points they were cites full of civilians who had nothing to do with the war. It would be like exactly like someone dropping a bomb on Detroit because of the war in Iraq, it would be seen as an act of terrorism today and it should've been seen as an act of terrorism then.

highly disagree. The united states blew up hiroshima instead of tokyo because of a japanese army there. Also, you need to know that the entire country was knocked into a state of emergency. They stacked up rocks and bamboo spears and shit and told middle school girls to stab an american soldier to death.

How wounded and how weak and how unarmed must an american marine be to be stabbed to death by a couple middle school girls. You can see how desperate and hysterical they were. Believe me, you do not know how many deaths there would be. I don't think there would be too many american deaths, but when you see middle schoolers charging at you with wooden sticks, they'll will be mowed down. it would be a slaughterhouse, so the nukes were neccessary to end it quick

[Locketart]

no Japan really was exhausted by the end of the war. Another thing ppl forget is that the Japanese expanded to control most of the populations territory as well as parts of china and the rest of the asia mainland. By the time we dropped the bombs that Japanese only had japan left and some parts of china. They lost alot of ground and alot of troops trying to defend such a large area and they paid the price for it Russia was closing on on the mainland and the US was closing in by sea in fact we had already landed on the island when the bombs were dropped i think we captured Okinawa. The Japanese political and military base was the emperor If he had been captured or assassinated along with his heirs the Japanese would probably lost heart and surrendered they cared that much about his well-being but by then theres nothing they could've done.

I probably agree with everything you've said so far. I can't see how the killing of hundreds of thousands of civilians is justified. Not to mention Xemnas that most of this hate probably stemmed from the past when Perry flaunted his gunboats and forced open Japan's trade ports. What the U.S. did sickens me. Of course it hasn't ended there, U.S. troops have already killed countless civilians in Iraq.

[Midori]

^_^

Nope. Wont see me with banners half naked and stuff painted on my chest about how terrible war is because we lost only... 1k troops over 2 years or something.

3,972 dead as of February 25, 2008

i agree with everything you say.

[Stallowned]

no Japan really was exhausted by the end of the war. Another thing ppl forget is that the Japanese expanded to control most of the populations territory as well as parts of china and the rest of the asia mainland. By the time we dropped the bombs that Japanese only had japan left and some parts of china. They lost alot of ground and alot of troops trying to defend such a large area and they paid the price for it Russia was closing on on the mainland and the US was closing in by sea in fact we had already landed on the island when the bombs were dropped i think we captured Okinawa. The Japanese political and military base was the emperor If he had been captured or assassinated along with his heirs the Japanese would probably lost heart and surrendered they cared that much about his well-being but by then theres nothing they could've done.

I probably agree with everything you've said so far. I can't see how the killing of hundreds of thousands of civilians is justified. Not to mention Xemnas that most of this hate probably stemmed from the past when Perry flaunted his gunboats and forced open Japan's trade ports. What the U.S. did sickens me. Of course it hasn't ended there, U.S. troops have already killed countless civilians in Iraq.

So you're saying the alternative of possibly thousands if not millions more of dead japanese soldiers and civilians and us troops would of been better?