I've always been on the fence about this one. Should they have dropped the bomb? If so, did they have to do it on a city? I suppose the best way to attack someone IS by attacking the core.

The photos are indeed horrifying but this is a topic that bears closer attention...

What most people don't know (or consider) is the fact that prior to the bombs being dropped, US forces were gearing up for a massive invasion of the Japanese homeland itself.

The Japanese planned an all-out defense, down to every last man, woman, and child. It was considered dishonorable to do anything but fight and die for the emperor. This includes as many as 10,000+ kamikaze planes poised to attack the invasion fleet before the troops even hit the shores.

Estimates vary but it is said that an invasian of Japan would have resulted in as many as 1.2 million combined casualties (predominantly Japanese).

So do the math...

two atom bombs: 214,000 casualties
invasion of Japan: 1,200,000 casualties

Lets just hope we never find ourselves in a situation that requires us to even contemplate using such terrible weapons again.

I did a research paper on this a while back, and it's likely that, if the Potsdam declaration had instead offered a conditional surrender (as opposed to an unconditional surrender that required that the emperor be deposed), the Japanese may have surrendered, and there wouldn't have been any reason to drop the bombs on Japan.

There is evidence to suggest that the bombs were used to justify the cost spent, and, as far fetched as it may seem, there is substantial evidence to support that the atom bomb was used to intimidate the soviets (see: "the atom bomb was used to intimidate the soviets").

This is not a good post, jax. I have followed the course of death and destruction from atomic bombs since I was a boy. I agree everyone should see the horror of the result of atomic warfare. I think one should find it on his/her own, whenever. I don't mean to sound sage, or more informed than anyone else. I just feel that if a person wants to see this they should search it. I would never post video of the bulldozers at the concentration camps. It's all a bit too much for those without an understanding, and, a desire to see the dark side of our miserable history.

Also, a good point.

Good points but I don't think the American people would have accepted anything but unconditional surrender.


Some truth there but it may also have been that we beat the Japanese to the punch with the atom bomb.

I watched a documentary about Japanese development of an A Bomb. Given what was going on at the time and the utter destruction that was wrought on Japan - I have no doubt that, had they been able to complete work on their own a-bomb, they would have used it on us.

it wasn't a united states war to begin with. sure, the US may have wanted revenge for pearl harbor, but the US joined the war late to back up England, France, and the USSR. I think the American public would have accepted it because, despite that attack, US forces had firebombed and whatnot for a considerable amount of time before the bombs were dropped. I've never read anywhere about Japanese developments of an atomic weapon (Germany only - in fact, I remember reading that Japan had very few resources and was even running out of material for planes).

The Japanese were trying to develop atomic weapons as well as the Germans. In fact they had enough enriched uranium to try to send some to Germany via submarine.

Read "The Secret War." Japan was doing it's developing in Korea due to the lack of natural power in Japan. They were going to use atomic weapons on the expected American invasion fleet.

It might also help to look at the history of what the Japanese government had been doing to China for years and the inhuman treatment of war prisoners during the war. As someone who lived through WWII, I don't question the necessity of dropping those bombs.