Please try to keep an open mind. Do any Americans think that America committed war crimes?

Question

Napalming of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto - although there was factories in all of these cities, there was a very dense civilian population. Casualties for civilians were roughly 80,000 people for Tokyo alone. All burned to death.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki - conservatively estimates say a total of 100,000 people died. And although there were military bases here, was it still justified? Imagine attacking Los Angeles or San Diego to destroy military installations containing 5000-7000 military personnel at most.

Although we justify these attacks through Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor was a military target. Only 2,403 American servicemen and 68 civilians were killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pacific/sfeature/sf_costs_02.html

I really don’t want to bring up Vietnam or Iraq.

We prosecute war criminals of other countries, but why don’t we hold ourselves to the standard we set? Doesn’t this damage out nation’s image?

Pcheesewize,

The goal is to answer the question, not add useless information.
by august 1945, germany had already been defeated, and the japanese had been beaten back all the way to their home island, which was under constant bombing. The japanese had been negotiating a surrender to Russia during the early days of that august, before the attack of Hiroshima an Nagasaki

so tell me again how the act of NOT dropping the atomic bomb would have ended in me not writting this article today?

Were the japanese somehow going to spring up from nothing, build a navy to challenge America's full 5th fleet, and the aircorps which was already established on every other island within striking reach of japan?

the russians were only able to do it because the germans froze to death. no such monster for bombing missions.

Answer 1

Why do you think the other countries' citizens hate the US? It's one of the few common ground that the French for example have with, say...the Arabs. It's not only for US hubris. It's because the US people don't practice what they preach.

Answer 2

The US never justified the act of dropping the atom bomb on the basis of the 2,403 servicemen and 68 civilians that died at Pearl Harbor. If we acted as outrageously as the Japanese did during WW2, anybody would have the right to drop the bomb on Los Angeles and San Diego if they had the capability. In order to understand why our country sent out the bombers, you would have to read and understand the events that occurred after Pearl Harbor. Had we not dropped that bomb, there is a good chance you wouldn't be here to ask this question on Yahoo.

Answer 3

The truth is yes. Our bombing of civilian targets in Germany and Japan were no more honorable than Germany's bombing of London, Rotterdam, Belgrade, etc, etc. The difference was that Germany and Japan were aggressing against their neighbors and asked for every bit of what they got.

That being said, we can never take for granted the effectiveness of the bombing campaigns and the incredible courage it took for young American aircrews to reach those targets. And despite the tragedy of civilian deaths, the bombing campaign succeeded in bringing the war to a quicker conclusion that saved many more lives.

And really dude, I think we need to bring up Iraq, because our treatement of detainees is a violation of the Geneva Convention and more importantly it is a violation of American values. We simply don't treat our enemies that way and until this current administration we never did before.

If we are engaged in a war on terrorism than it goes to follow that those people we fight are enemy combatants and should be treated as such.

So let's not focus war crimes talks on a generations of Americans who saved the world from fascism. Nooo, let's focus it our generation that is allowing our morals and values to be destroyed in the name of security....

Answer 4

It would be nice to be able to win a war with no casualties of any kind. But in this case you are trading the lives of Japanese civilians for those of Allied soldiers. Why should their lives be more valuable? These "innocent" civilians should have had a tighter rein on their government and stropped them from raping and murdering hundreds of thousands of true innocents. I would have dropped a hundred atomic bombs on Japan before I risked the life of a single American soldier.
And here's another thing. Can anyone name another time in history when a nation victorious in war treated its enemy so generously afterwards? Were ther mass executions of Japanese soldiers? Slave labor? Nope. We set the government back on its feet and left. Why doesn't anybody ever mention that?

Answer 5

US federal law defines War Crimes under 18 USC 2441.

Under that defintion, yes. The Supreme Court has determined that the US has violated Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, the violation of which is listed as a war crime under federal law.

And that's just recently, under the current administration.

Answer 6

Nope - you attack freedom and democracy and you die. In war there is collateral damage. Wives and kids die when terrorists hide behind them. If you look at history, you find that we were always attached first after the initial wars of oppression which established this country. Islamic infadels must die die die. We pray for nukes to drop in the middle east.

Answer 7

the Romans did
We did
now America must
accept the tally of Empire

Answer 8

Because in the words of Winston Churchill..."In war everyone commits atrocities. Only losers commit war crimes".

Answer 9

i would say that every country that has ever gone to war has committed war crimes. soldiers are soldiers... but they are also people and not all people are good or honorable.

Answer 10

What's your point? War is hell.... mostly for the looses...