tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post112352575841377407..comments2024-03-28T22:26:25.034+05:30Comments on Alternative Perspective: Tokyo Fire-Bombing: Were Hiroshima-Nagasaki required?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-65304011841881299912012-04-05T12:47:48.616+05:302012-04-05T12:47:48.616+05:30I think we are sometimes guilty of hindsight, espe...I think we are sometimes guilty of hindsight, especially in the age of the internet and instant information. As now, no-one knew the future. Intelligence was patchy and not altogether unreliable. Stories were coming in about the Jewish atrocities in Europe as well as the infamous prison camps of the Japanese. Somewhere between and emotional reaction to an apalling realization of the horrors visited upon us by the enemy and a practical notion that nothing less than unconditional surrender would ensure the safety of the world after a long and bloody conflict meant that in the minds of the people at the time, both the firebombing and the atomic bombing were a necessity. Looking at the situation through modern eyes does not appreciate the situation the world was in at the time.Roghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395362448933070535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-48486078076038329702011-10-24T05:25:10.429+05:302011-10-24T05:25:10.429+05:30This narrative might be more credible if it were n...This narrative might be more credible if it were not filled with so many inaccuracies. LeMay never uttered the "stone age" quote attributed to him. It is usually attributed to him (inaccurately) in the early Vietnam era when he was Air Force chief of staff and not in the context of the March 9-10 firebomb mission to Tokyo. Also prominently missing from this narrative is the courage of the American aircrews who took the war to the Japanese home islands. Some of them died that night.<br /><br />I'm the author of the book "MISSION TO BERLIN." The book is primarily about bomber crews and their experience but it includes a discussion of city bombing.Robert F. Dorrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17177426725708056500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-51715016898278749602011-05-29T07:54:17.813+05:302011-05-29T07:54:17.813+05:30In 1937 in China, the Japanese military carried ou...In 1937 in China, the Japanese military carried out some of the most barbaric acts against civilians that the world has ever seen. To suggest that the West was somehow better at organized violence is simply wrong. World War 2 was an all out global war that killed more than 20 million civilians by some estimates. all sides mut bear that responsibility.However, in this case, the aggressors in the conflict, Germany and Japan suffered terribly for the arrogance and brutality of their leaders.All sides had the blood of innocents on their hands.It was a dark period in history and we can only hope that it will not be repeated,as there will likely be no one left to argue the morality of it.pbwct22https://www.blogger.com/profile/16193579360809695862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-42524738219891058052010-08-22T14:13:52.632+05:302010-08-22T14:13:52.632+05:30If the Japanese were given a nazi atombomb, how co...If the Japanese were given a nazi atombomb, how could they have delivered it? Their baloon bombs had range enugh (Farmington Michigan), but the payload and accuracy counts them out. A super long range one way trip aircraft ? It seems to me, we had nothing of that magnitude to even remotely worry about. The commander in chief who ordered it droped was not even elected @ the time. I don't believe a republican president would have ever considered using such a thing.Mike Dearinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13033558737337947805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-68145024606661622222009-05-08T19:59:00.000+05:302009-05-08T19:59:00.000+05:30It's great that the Tokyo Firebombing was mention,...It's great that the Tokyo Firebombing was mention, that bombing raid never gets the attention that the A-bombs got, but were much more deadly. Not exactly great links though, it is the unregulated internet. And not sure about the logic, it true that the firebombing was worse than the a-bombs, but it almost proves that the a-bombs were necessary since the Japanese military hadn't surrendered yet.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06474660946036975364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-41660718517245920412008-11-11T07:54:00.000+05:302008-11-11T07:54:00.000+05:30I hope that after reading these quotes in the link...I hope that after reading these quotes in the link below, that the reader can tell the difference between the actual motive of the war crimes in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the subsequent propaganda. I agree that Japan had committed war crimes in Asia and to Allied POW's. But to answer a crime with crime and hate with fate? Especially with a weapon which is so destructive, which only involves a flick of a finger to bring such suffering, cannot be justified. Two wrongs never make a right, especially if the second wrong is not necessary and is an overkill, which would mage the second wrong, just more wrong. That said, in the end it may have been a blessing that Russia did not enter Hokkaido, which would have certainly complicated the Japanese reconstruction and also probably produced a much different outcome in the Cold War era. Korean War would have been different for sure. I wonder what had been actually discussed/decided in Yalta as to how much of Japan USSR was to occupy.<BR/><BR/>http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/Brian_Mitchell/hiroshima_reason.htmStevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12965090564101541316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-26194866986247813392008-11-11T07:24:00.000+05:302008-11-11T07:24:00.000+05:30Also a great site:http://www.hiroshimacommittee.or...Also a great site:<BR/><BR/>http://www.hiroshimacommittee.org/Background_Reason&Circumstance.htmStevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12965090564101541316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-56927644249816089282008-11-11T07:14:00.000+05:302008-11-11T07:14:00.000+05:30I thought that it was common knowledge that Hirosh...I thought that it was common knowledge that Hiroshima and Nagasaki was to stop Stalin to come further into Japan and infitrate Europe.<BR/><BR/>http://slowdecline.wordpress.com/2007/10/05/united-states-lies-pearl-harbor-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-untold-death-destruction/Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12965090564101541316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-42601344130570199272008-07-05T18:29:00.000+05:302008-07-05T18:29:00.000+05:30Has anybody mentioned that the reason for a-bombin...Has anybody mentioned that the reason for a-bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not to defeat the Japanese, but to send a signal to Stalin that this is what the Americans would do if he tried to take western Europe?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-39313364632108946892008-03-15T01:46:00.000+05:302008-03-15T01:46:00.000+05:30Madhukar,I didn't draw any inferences about humani...Madhukar,<BR/><BR/>I didn't draw any inferences about humanitarianism from Japan's refusal to accept occupation, rather, I just brought it up as a point of fact.<BR/><BR/>I wrote a paper in prep school about the interesting (if very morbid) decision to use atomic weapons on Japan. My thoughts went something like this:<BR/><BR/>1) Britain used "area" (i.e. terror) bombing against Germany because:<BR/>a) daylight bombing brought unacceptable losses of bombers<BR/>b) a city was the only target big enough to hit at night with the technology available at that point.<BR/>c) the only alternatve was to do nothing to fight the Nazis, which the British felt would lead to "peace" negotiations.<BR/>2) The USA resisted area bombing of Germany until the use of radar bombing and choices targets in congested urban areas (e.g. rail yards) with very poor accuracy became only a moral "fig leaf." Indeed, by 1944 the USA was terror bombing Germany and only calling it "industrial" bombing for propaganda purposes.<BR/>3) By the time Germany surrendered, terror bombing was acceptable, especially after the attrocities commited by the Germans were revealed, and compared to what the Japanese were doing. When one reads about what the Japanese were doing to the Chinese and Koreans, let alone American POW's, it staggers the imagination.<BR/>3) Once terror bombing became acceptable, atomic weapons were seen as nothing more than a more efficient way to achieve the same objective.<BR/><BR/>Thus, there was no "moral" consideration at all about whether to use the A bomb.<BR/><BR/>Right or wrong, I still feel that this was essentially the course of events.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05101581001171228125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-74253447331909122732008-03-12T22:45:00.000+05:302008-03-12T22:45:00.000+05:30@David,If you are refering to Richard Frank's book...@David,<BR/><BR/>If you are refering to Richard Frank's book,... yes, he has justified the USA's "humanitarian" initiative to bring "peace" by bombing Hiroshima-Nagasaki and Tokyo fire-bombing... <BR/><BR/>US had put the same conditions for "peace" as it has been putting with other countries (including Iraq) since then - as you mentioned it "...that Japan not be occupied" (that is a tough condition to accept for any self-respecting nation to accept!)<BR/><BR/>I have given the urls to documents I have used in the mail.... please do have a look at them before taking "Downfall" as the only truth...madhukarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02721957971977767171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-7977284479814199502008-03-12T01:37:00.000+05:302008-03-12T01:37:00.000+05:30I'm reading a book called "Downfall" which contrad...I'm reading a book called "Downfall" which contradicts your idea that the Japanese were ready to accept peace, the only condition being that they keep their emperor. In fact, they had other conditions, such as all the colonies they occupied be granted independence first, and that Japan not be occupied. Moreover, the army was not in agreement with accepting peace even with those condidtions.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05101581001171228125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-74916894134178809522007-12-10T20:53:00.000+05:302007-12-10T20:53:00.000+05:30@Marine4life27:No, I haven't heard/read about any ...@Marine4life27:<BR/><BR/>No, I haven't heard/read about any such thing.. do you have a reference/URL to share?madhukarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02721957971977767171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-60409090803742479562007-12-10T17:52:00.000+05:302007-12-10T17:52:00.000+05:30so apparently you havent heard that after the seco...so apparently you havent heard that after the second bomb was dropped and japan surrendered we searched a japanese ship that had plutonium on it and was headed for hiroshima. they had plans that were found in japan for an atomic bomb that the germans had helped them build and were planning on using it on us. so if we hadnt dropped those bombs what do you think would have happened?marine4life27https://www.blogger.com/profile/01846873145121281941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5143201.post-52894931279710386042007-12-10T17:51:00.000+05:302007-12-10T17:51:00.000+05:30This comment has been removed by the author.marine4life27https://www.blogger.com/profile/01846873145121281941noreply@blogger.com