The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Do you agree with Truman's decision?

[Da_Eggman]

Yeah, as dark as it was the alternative was a likely months long if not year’s long campaign to break them. Spreading suffering not only to the American troops serving but that whole country as the US attacked.

The fact they told them through leaflets that they were going to bomb them to give people a chance to run shows that it wasn’t to inflict pain but to try and end that damn war.

The only real critique is the question would they have nuked Germany? Idk, I think Pearl Harbor and just racism made the decision to nuke Japan possible. If the war in Europe continued maybe Germany would have been an option. We won’t ever know,

No it’s wouldn’t of been possible to nuke Germany but they did drop plenty of bombs all of Germany and Paris without any consideration

 

[Wargames]

No it’s wouldn’t of been possible to nuke Germany but they did drop plenty of bombs all of Germany and Paris without any consideration

Yeah WWII was horrible if you were a civilian. American civilians got it sweet, all they asked you to do was to cut down on consumption.

 

[Icewatermetallik]

Don't know if y'all watched "Greatest Events of WW2 in Color" on Netflix , but it's so dope. Such a good documentary.

Basically we had to do it. The Japanese weren't going to surrender and to invade Japan it was estimated it would have cost 100,000 American lives due to the foritfied beaches in Japan. It would have been a blood bath. Iwo Jima but on a much grander scale.

There was really no alternative. The Pacific war would have been dragged out another 2, 3, 5 years.

 

[Icewatermetallik]

"Do you agree with mass murdering innocents"

It was nothing more than Muricans flexing their muscle on non-white populations, Japan was already on its way out since the USSR was looming up north. US NEVER would've dropped nukes in Europe.

Not sure about you breh but Asians/ Japanese are considered "White". When people say non-white I take that to mean African american, Hispanic/ Latino, or Native american. I think most ppl essentially consider Asians as "White"

 

[Mr.Plan B]

No, America wanted to show the Russia that they had a new weapon in case they wanted to get froggy. Japan had already lost and would have waived the white flag later that week even if America never drop the nukes.

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

No. Japan was going to surrender anyway. It was just a flex to kick off the Cold War. Anyone who votes yes is sick.

 

[get these nets]

Not sure what my answer would be, but I do know that memories of Pearl Harbor made the (American)backlash less than what it would have been.

*what lead to the Pearl Harbor bombings is a completely different thread.

 

[Piff Perkins]

Yes.

 

[GnauzBookOfRhymes]

"Do you agree with mass murdering innocents"

It was nothing more than Muricans flexing their muscle on non-white populations, Japan was already on its way out since the USSR was looming up north. US NEVER would've dropped nukes in Europe.

Depends.

The key here is that the US didn't want the Russians to actually land in Japan bc that would've meant another Germany situation where you have Russians controlling half the nation.

If it were the Germans who were holding out and the Russians had not yet occupied the east, and dropping the bomb meant the US would've been able to prevent Russians from occupying eastern Europe I don't think the US would've hesitated one second. The US and UK were bombing German cities almost nonstop, UK at night and US in broad fukking daylight.

Like you said this was all about flexing it's muscles. Human rights/civilian casualties etc didn't mean shyt to the US back in those days.

 

[DEAD7]

Yes.
It saved lives.

 

[Broke Wave]

You're unfamiliar with this? It's fairly common knowledge. You're an immigrant and live in Canada now so this may not have been discussed in your primary education.

Long Peace - Wikipedia.

Bringing up my ancestry in an attempt to disrespect me and degrade my knowledge is in poor taste.

I am indeed the descendant of immigrants but unfortunately I am not one myself. That being said, a Wikipedia article about a period referred to as “The Long Peace” does not mean it is reality.

One need only look at the subsequent conflicts in the immediate 5 years following the bombings to see levels of carnage still today unseen.

Chinese Civil War - Wikipedia

The Chinese civil war may have started in 1933, but after the war was over and the Japanese left, they really got busy. They entered a period known as the “Concluding Phase” where millions would die from 1945-1949.

Est 2.5 million civilians died in a war that spilled into another unnecessary conflict in the Korean Peninsula which would kill untold more millions from 1950-1953

Korean War - Wikipedia

The United States actually considered dropping the same bombs from Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Beijing after receiving a thorough ass whooping at the hands of a depleted and battle fatigued Chinese Red Army. So I don’t think the intended purpose of the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians was a preserved peace.

 

[Pressure]

Bringing up my ancestry in an attempt to disrespect me and degrade my knowledge is in poor taste.

I am indeed the descendant of immigrants but unfortunately I am not one myself. That being said, a Wikipedia article about a period referred to as “The Long Peace” does not mean it is reality.

One need only look at the subsequent conflicts in the immediate 5 years following the bombings to see levels of carnage still today unseen.

Chinese Civil War - Wikipedia

The Chinese civil war may have started in 1933, but after the war was over and the Japanese left, they really got busy. They entered a period known as the “Concluding Phase” where millions would die from 1945-1949.

Est 2.5 million civilians died in a war that spilled into another unnecessary conflict in the Korean Peninsula which would kill untold more millions from 1950-1953

Korean War - Wikipedia

The United States actually considered dropping the same bombs from Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Beijing after receiving a thorough ass whooping at the hands of a depleted and battle fatigued Chinese Red Army. So I don’t think the intended purpose of the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians was a preserved peace.

You seemingly missed the entire premise of both the long peace and the new peace.

In fact your criticisms have been addressed by the scholar who coined the term himself.

This is a criticism that Gaddis would likely accept. Indeed, he himself poses the rhetorical question: ‘That period… has seen… a whole series of protracted and devastating limited wars, an abundance of revolutionary, ethnic, religious, and civil violence, as well as some of the deepest and most intractable ideological rivalries in human experience… Is it not stretching things a bit… to… call it peace.’ (Gaddis, 1987: 216) Of course, Gaddis’s “long peace” refers to system stability rather than an absence of violence. Despite unequivocal ideological antipathy and the existence of greatest destructive devices man has ever known, the positions and forms of the great powers has remained largely unchanged since 1945. As Singer puts it: ‘the big news is that the industrial and post-industrial nations have somehow managed to prepare for war with a dedication seldom seen in history, while nevertheless keeping the apocalyptic horsemen at bay.’ (1991: 83-84) Gaddis’s emphasis on structural stability rather than a more human-centric definition of peace is obvious.

Which is why I spoke on the advancements of that period due to stability created.

And this isn't so much about preservation as it was in ushering in a paradigm shift.

I think you'd benefit from reading some scholarly articles instead of whatever you're doing here.

 

[Broke Wave]

You seemingly missed the entire premise of both the long peace and the new peace.

In fact your criticisms have been addressed by the scholar who coined the term himself.



Which is why I spoke on the advancements of that period due to stability created.

And this isn't so much about preservation as it was in ushering in a paradigm shift.

I think you'd benefit from reading some scholarly articles instead of whatever you're doing here.

Well even according to this so called “scholar” and his definition of “peace” which is rather Orwellian, the structures of society had experienced more upheaval in Europe and the United Stayes during the post war period domestically than any other periods preceding it; civil rights as a perfect example.
Rather to me the only unquestioned stable by product of the post war dynamic was the American hegemony and imperialism that permeated thoroughly during that so called peace period.

To refer to a period as peaceful after acknowledging the widespread deaths and tribulations experienced by the brunt of humanity is already ghoulish on its face. Adding to that however that it was peaceful because the structures of power remained “stable” adds another level of grotesque delusion to the matter.

The restaraunt food is “delicious” not because it tastes good, but because the servers are white.

 

[mbewane]

Depends.

The key here is that the US didn't want the Russians to actually land in Japan bc that would've meant another Germany situation where you have Russians controlling half the nation.

If it were the Germans who were holding out and the Russians had not yet occupied the east, and dropping the bomb meant the US would've been able to prevent Russians from occupying eastern Europe I don't think the US would've hesitated one second. The US and UK were bombing German cities almost nonstop, UK at night and US in broad fukking daylight.

Like you said this was all about flexing it's muscles. Human rights/civilian casualties etc didn't mean shyt to the US back in those days.

Not sure why you put "back in those days" at the end tbh.

 

[mbewane]

Not sure about you breh but Asians/ Japanese are considered "White". When people say non-white I take that to mean African american, Hispanic/ Latino, or Native american. I think most ppl essentially consider Asians as "White"

Lol what. US was keeping Japs in camps IN THE US and you think they were considered white lmao

Act like the whole "Yellow peril" thing didn't happen brehs.