Quote:
Originally Posted by Agamemnon
The documentary "Fog of War" pointed out that at the time the US droped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima/Nagasaki, American fire-bombing had already killed 20-50% of the population of Japan's 20 largest cities. Some individual firebombing campaigns alone killed 100,000's of Japanese (supposedly 100,000 alone were killed in Tokyo on March 9, 1945).
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Considering that the Japanese pretty much fought down to the last man even in the most dire of consequences, even 50% of the population would have been hell to get through. I don't think there was ever a "right" solution, but in the case of Truman, I can't blame him for choosing to protect the lives of his own people, rather than the one of the enemy. In the end though, with his decision he saved many more lives than were killed...on both sides.