On 3/03/2014 1:23 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Saturday, March 1, 2014 11:04:05 PM UTC-8, Todd wrote:
On 03/01/2014 11:25 AM, Higgs Boson wrote:

How many are aware that dropping the bombs had little to do with forestalling a putative land invasion of Japan? They were on their asses already; no fuel, no food, no nuthin'. Ththere would have been relatively little resistance even by suicide, once the Emperor said give up.



Our GIs were told that dropping the bomb saved them from heavy casualties in a putative invasion. If I'd been a grunt at that time, believe me, I would have believed it!



Hi Higgs,



My late mother-in-law worked on the Manhattan project. Everyone on

that project was HORRIFIED with what they were about to do. And, if

anyone tells you they were not aware of the situation in Japan, they

are lying to you. The decision was made based on the Japanese military

arming the civilian population -- women, children -- with wooden

knives to fight us hand to hand. They were not going to give up.

And it took two bombs, not one, before they did.

Todd, you have either not read my post carefully or not understood it.

The Japanese people were so totally brainwashed by generations of Emperor worship that they would instantly do whatever he ordered. I referred to the chaotic situation within the Japanese government and military;perhaps you are not familiar with that, though there are several excellent sources for verification.

So I am not going through the whole argument again; I ask you just to read again and try to understand why, strictly speaking, neither bomb was necessary to end the war. A demonstration on a deserted island, properly announced in advance to the Japanese govt, would have been convincing. But the Americans were afraid it might not work (even after Trinity) so chose the mass incineration path.

To my knowledge, NO effective contact was made with the Japanese government before the 2nd bomb was dropped. Not to repeat again my informed comments about the chaos within the govt and the US ineptitude about discerning that chaos.

Of course there may have been reasons too horrible to envision for dropping two different kinds of bombs. Which kinda knocks out the argument against trying one out on a deserted island first. So the DID have another in reserve! This stinks louder & louder.

Boys with their toys...

The report of the first journo into Hiroshima is chilling reading. That
journo was Wilfred Burchett, and Australian who was a communist
sympathiser who has been much reviled.

http://assets.cambridge.org/97805217...64_excerpt.pdf