were the us right to do such a thing and cause all the damage after warning the japanese twice?
2006-11-04 05:53:01 · 20 answers · asked by midnight_banshee89 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
They had it coming..it saved thousands of American and Allied lives. Of course I hate the loss of life to any country but at that point the war was beyond being won on the ground, by air, or sea. They attacked us for no reason at Pearl Harbor.. Read up on your history.
2006-11-04 06:01:46 · answer #1 · answered by Shar 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
The most effective way to stop a fanatical nation that believes they are superior to everyone (provided their leader has some sense) is to show them that you have the power to wipe them off the face of the earth and not loose a single man in the process. If I recall correctly the targets were industrial regions which could or did make or process materials which would be used by the military making them valid military targets. The second one could have been avoided were it not for the fact that the nuke cut communication between the effected region and the capital so it took time to evaluate the damage which led to the second attack. However this show of force disillusioned the leader of Japan (believe it an Emperor but I’m not sure) and allowed him to surrender and not loose the whole of his nation. The Japanese people at this time had reached the point where they would be willing to fight with spears down to the old, the women and the children, so an invasion would have meant the near total annihilation of a people. Also there is a history channel documentary about japans weapons programs. They had jet technology which was applied to all areas of aircraft. That technological edge would have cost us the war, being our weapons systems could not handle targets moving that fast. I think that given the era the bombs were both justified and neccisary. Besides if you warn and don’t act you make yourself look weak and loose credibility.
2006-11-04 07:55:49 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
In hindsight I'd say it was morally wrong to drop the bombs on defenceless men women and children. Their suffering then and since must be horrendous. I'm sure a demonstration of the hydrogen and atom bombs destructive power could have been carried out without the slaughter--it was a cowardly attack and unforgivable. The Japanese attack on Pearl harbour was also cowardly, but at least it was a military base, although the USA wasn't at war then technically. I guess the Japanese would have dropped the a-bombs on Hawaii, had they had it at the time,but there can be no justification for any nation in using such a weapon in my opinion.
2006-11-04 06:17:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
this question is something that may come down to personal morality.
However, a real understanding of events leading to the bombs may help to discern an opinion.
Not even the Oppenheimer was completely sure what dropping the bomb would come to be - the total effects, short & long term. Truman had no knowledge of the developemnt of the weapon until shorlty before it was used.
Although Russia was an ally, Stalin was becoming more ruthless & beginning his own atomic developments.
There is do much more. There a few good books relating to this time period
2006-11-04 06:05:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't know. Probably saved some lives, but I am not sure it would have started the Nuclear race and killed 250,000 innocent men, women and children!!
The military lied to Truman when they told him there were military targets at both sites! There were none, and never had been any!
I think we could have impressed the Japanese in another manner without all the deaths, and I am really wondering why they thought a second one was necessary!
Yes, Japan did bomb Pearl Harbor.....AFTER the US cut off all it's access to resources!! It was a the push to get us into WWII as the congress tied FDR's hands in entering the war! So he back-doored it!
Pearl harbor was no secret, except to those who were there!
Why would any idiot put a whole damn fleet in harbor, with no one protecting the coast? Either the Generals are really stupid, or they are really smart, depending on what you believe, however the resource issue was very real!
Actually Japan and Germany declared war on us before we declared it on them!
2006-11-04 06:00:05 · answer #5 · answered by cantcu 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋
they where the aggressors, and they were warned, and dropping the bomb actually saved lives in the long run. I am truly sorry for the suffering of the Japanese people. war is hell, ask any pearl harbor survivor. This is a black eye in world history, but at the time the right choice.
2006-11-04 06:00:00 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes. Read your history books. He saved thousands of American and Japanese lives. Also, Japan lost two cities but would have had the whole nation destroyed and many more civilians killed.Pres. Truman had a difficult decision to make, but history shows he made the correct one for everyone.
2006-11-04 06:14:26 · answer #7 · answered by blindogben 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
The Bombs were deliberately dropped to scare Stalin,Japs were ready to surrender but it was Ignored by Truman and the Generals Oppenheimer was against its use.But it certainly had devastating implications ,OTHER NATIONS DEVELOPED ATOMIC WEAPONS TOO and ever since more and more nations developed the weapons the American Influence went down.
2006-11-04 06:16:14 · answer #8 · answered by Dr.O 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
The past is the past, but look how Japan is now...
It is a free and peaceful nation!
Maybe this would have stopped the terrorists in Iraq and the rest of the Muslim nations!
2006-11-04 06:03:57 · answer #9 · answered by TRUE GRIT 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
The fact that they didn't surrender after the first one, to me, shows that if we invaded conventionally only, they would have put up stiff resistance for years to come....so I say yes. In hindsight, it has helped us avoid world war for the past 60 years so it seems like a good decision.
2006-11-04 05:57:11 · answer #10 · answered by Brand X 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋