Should the United States have dropped the bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki?

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.

Answer 2

Yes, when you consider the alternative. How many thousands of more people would have died, had the US not dropped the bombs? How many more years would the war have gone on. The US was making plans in invade Japan when the bombs dropped and the Japanese surrendered. Just think of it. Had your grandparents been in the US during those years, you may not have been born, had one of them been killed if the war continued. It's unfair to place todays standards on something that happened over 60 years ago, don't you think?

Answer 3

The first few people above me are just parroting answers they read in high school textbooks.
Japan was clearly weak and defeated. An invasion by Russia would've given them the finishing strike. However, UK and the US didn't want that to happen, and, the West wanted to try out their new toys, so Japan was bombed by the U.S., enabling Japan to be occupied by the U.S. (instead of Russia); this allowed U.S. to have a presence in Asia and keep an eye on the "Commies"

Answer 4

McArthur and Esienhower were asked for their opinion of dropping the bomb on Japan and both stated it was not neccessary.
Truman thought it would save lives American and Japanese. I am inclinded to agree. But I only care about American and allied lives. The Japanese started the war. They only reaped the bitter harvest they planted. I only regret we did not have it sooner.

Answer 5

On Hiroshima, yes; Nagasaki was strictly for show

Answer 6

we wernt there, it was a decision taken by the people who were living under the threat at the time. they obviously thought it was the only alternative, we only know what we read and in some cases what people who were alive at the time saw. every generation is responsible for their own decisions as we will be for ours, has anyone come up with a alternative that would have been just as or more effective in ending ww11 once and for all

Answer 7

It ended the war and peace with Japan has held to this day. It was the right answer.

Answer 8

1. It worked.
2. It saved a lot of US lives.
3. How many times since then has Japan threatened us? None. Exactly. They just give us cool video games and the Nintendo Wii. Thank you, Japan. Oh, and sorry for killing half of your population, but at least we stopped you from overpopulating. At least 5 years.

Answer 9

It's over and done with. I guess the ends justified the means.

Answer 10

It saved a million more lives.
Yep, correct decision.

final answer