American bombing of Japan during W.W. 2?

Question

What would the anti-war people say about the bombing of Japan during W.W. 2 Hunreds of thousands of civilans died during the fire bombing.

What about the poor German civilans? Should the United States have left them alone too so no civilans are killed.

Maybe there should have been a cease fire after Pearl Harbor, that way no lifes would have been lost and Japan would have rulled Asia. Germany could have signed a cease fire after after taking France.

Civilians die during war.

Answer 1

It's true we lost the moral high ground after use of the nukes on Japan, but looking at what Truman faced in 1945, i probably would've done the same thing. To compare the moral depravity of state sponsored genocide where the death ovens at Aushwitz/Birkenau were topping out at 2,600 per day or 80,000 killed per month and the aerial bombardment of civilians is looking at different scales.

The "Final Solution" was the policy of only one country during the last century, and it wasn't the U.S. My beef is with the multi-national business cartels that allowed it to happen, the top being IG Farben (now BASF, Bayer, among others).

Not only did they finance Adolf, they supplied him with Zyclon B for use in the death camps. The American side of the company was not tried at Nuremburg, although they were just as culpable, go figure.
The fire bombing of Dresden by the 8th Air Force and RAF Bomber Command, caused the destruction of 15 square kms including 14,000 homes, 72 schools, 22 hospitals, 18 churches, etc. with a conservative estimate of around 30,000 civilians killed. At the time, the Germans used it as propaganda to advocate against following the Geneva conventions and to attack people's perception of the Allies claim to absolute moral superiority. The military claimed the railroad center was a military target, which it was, altho it was up and running a week later. Feb 1945 was only 3 months away from May 1945 (end of the Euopean war), the outcome of the war was not in doubt, so why bomb a 'cultural' medieval city of 600,000?

The firebombing of Dresden and nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were war crimes, genocide should also include civilian victims of aerial bombardment. Even after saying this, i still don't think the Allies were close to the moral depravity of the Nazis and their wholesale holocaust of the Euopean Jews.

The bombing of civilians is a great tragedy, none can deny. It is not so much this or the other means of making war that is immoral or inhumane. What is immoral is war itself. Once full-scale war has broken out it can never be humanized or civilized, and if one side attempted to do so it would be most likely to be defeated. That to me is the lesson of Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Answer 2

Those who are power hungry always want more. And what if Hitler had listened to the Horten brothers who had designed a bomber that could bomb America and then go back. what if japan's balloon bombs hadn't frozen up it the atmosphere. Britain was bombed up until Germany surrendered in 1945. three months before the wars end the poor German civilians were still manufacturing 2000-3000 planes a month. every possible civilian was put into the home defense corp (men ages18-65),Hitler youth and the equivalent of the girl scouts for Nazis, those not fighting were working in factories producing the needs to continue fighting. I rest my case.

Answer 3

Civilian casualties are part of a war. There is not a war where civilian casualties can be totally avoided. On the otherhand, reckless bombing or gunfire from an army towards unarmed civilians is unjust, obviously.

BUT, like what is happening in Lebanon and even in Iraq, terrorists and Hezbollah are dressing up as civilians to ambush or surprise the opposition. So yea =/

Answer 4

Yes, they do. But if it can be avoided, it should. Today's technology means civilian deaths can be kept to a minimum. That civilians continue to be targeted is testament to the mindset of those doing the targeting. "It's war, people die" is a convenient excuse to continue without accountability.

The World Wars were fought with emerging technologies not capable of such precision. Still, in some instances people on all sides got trigger happy, and killed just for the sake of killing. Didn't make it right then, doesn't make it right now.

Your revisionist history hypotheticals seem to argue that we can use our violent history to justify our violent present. I see that pretext being used a lot in the Middle East. Didn't make it right then, doesn't make it right now.

Answer 5

Your question is dreadfully complex and so are the answers. WW2 was a total war with no rules or restraints. It was a clash of philosophies and worldviews and the desperate attempts by "have not" nations to become "have" nations -- but at the expense of lesser weaker neighboring nations and peoples.

The firebombing of both German and Japanese cities was the result of their relocating (dispersing) their means of manufacturing insturments of war among civillian neighborhoods, particularly the Japanese. Thus, they, themselves, invited the use of carpet bombing. The Germans wer not so much guilty of this and there were terrible transgression against purely civilian concentrations by the British (Bomber Harris will live in infamy for his fleets of bombers attacking Dresden, for example).

So, there is legitimate misgivings in your mind and heart but most of it was necessary to conclue the war and end dictatorships and all that entails.

Not a good answer, I know, but your question would require years of detailed discussion to answer.

Answer 6

Yes, civilians die in war. But to deliberately target them is criminal. The U.S. and Great Brittan deliberately targeted civilians in World War II. Winston Churchill himself ordered the "Terror Bombing" of German civilians, prior to the Luftwaffe ever bombing London. The U.S.A.A.F. also deliberately fire-bombed Japanese civilians. Today's insane world is the result of America having fought on the wrong side in that conflict. Instead, they should have joined the Nazis and helped to destroy Communism.

Answer 7

What is your question?

The anti-war people just like to hear themselves talk so I don't care what they would have said after the bombing at Heroshima (sp?)

If they attack us we'll attack them. Innocent people died at Pearl Harbor too!

Answer 8

Start studying history over again. Maybe from Qin dynasty in China, around 1900 is good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_China#Qing_Dynasty

Japan didn't and couldn't controll Asia.

And if you mention Pearl Harbor, please study about Hull note, Bombing Tokyo and Battle of Okinawa as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hull_note
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Tokyo_in_World_War_II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Okinawa

Answer 9

Sad but true. It is a no win situation for the Israeli's

Answer 10

Your line of thinking is called appeasement and will only lead to totalitarian regimes and millions of deaths. You are astoundingly ignorant!