another take

[storch]

shamrock posted a to the 140,000 who died in the bombing of hiroshima in the Gen Paul Tibbets obituary thread.  his post struck me as silly and out of place in that thread.  it also created other questions which are what I'm posing in this thread.

what was so inherently evil about dropping an atomic bomb to end a bloody and needlessly continuing war against japan?

were the deaths of 350,000 german civilians during the RAF firebombing raid on dresden on 13 feb 1945 any less tragic?

what about the estimated 1,000,000 other japanese casualties from the USAAF firebombings in all of japan prior to the atomic bombings?

what about the 30,000,000 people josef stalin managed to make disappear?

what about the 10,000,000 victims of the nazi regime?

I say it was a good move dropping those weapons.  I think we should have done that at least twice more in the immediate aftermath of the war against japan sadly we didn't have the weapons.

[Nimrod45]

Originally posted by storch
shamrock posted a to the 140,000 who died in the bombing of hiroshima in the Gen Paul Tibbets obituary thread.  his post struck me as silly and out of place in that thread.  it also created other questions which are what I'm posing in this thread.

what was so inherently evil about dropping an atomic bomb to end a bloody and needlessly continuing war against japan?

were the deaths of 350,000 german civilians during the RAF firebombing raid on dresden on 13 feb 1945 any less tragic?

what about the estimated 1,000,000 other japanese casualties from the USAAF firebombings in all of japan prior to the atomic bombings?

what about the 30,000,000 people josef stalin managed to make disappear?

what about the 10,000,000 victims of the nazi regime?

I say it was a good move dropping those weapons.  I think we should have done that at least twice more in the immediate aftermath of the war against japan sadly we didn't have the weapons.

Twice more!!!!!!! On who, what and why, the war was over?

[Mojava]

I think your numbers are a bit out of proportion.

In Hiroshima, of a resident civilian population of 250 000 it was estimated that 45 000 died on the first day and a further 19 000 during the subsequent four months.

In Dresden Both the Columbia Encyclopedia and Encarta Encyclopedia list the number as "from 35,000 to more than 135,000 dead".


  If you ever get a chance to read Saburo Sakais book, Samauri.  He explains that the Japanese would never give up, they would sacrifice themselves however possible to keep the US off the mainland.  The only logical course of action we had for ending the war, with a minimum of  casualty's, was bombing Nagasaki and Hiroshima.  There emperor was directly responsible above all else, and should be held as the major cause for loss of life for both Japanese and Allied forces.

[Viking]

The bomb could have been demonstrated first, but I understand why it was not. All in all we have to say that America and the allies were both merciful and kind by allowing the Japanese and German peoples to continue to exist.

[Ongurth]

The problem is with General Tibbets.  He ended a bloody war that we didn't start.  He saved the lives of countless American marines (have you seen the death toll estimates for an invasion of Japan!!).

The problem is that many today (mostly the product of our liberal schools), believe two things: America is a big bad evil country, war must be avoided at all cost.

What did the great Gen. Tibbets do?  He defended America (the dropping of the bomb immediately made America a superpower) and waged war.  Thus General Tibbets is an object of the hatred of many of my peers.

I know several people who have been required to write reports for school (exam grade reports!!) on why it was wrong of us to drop the bomb (not why did we do it, why it was wrong of us to do it!).

I find it interesting that these people are so hung up about saving the lives of 100,000 Japanses (the nation that started the war), but would have not problem seeing a MILLION American service men (plus countless Japanese for that matter) die in an invasion of Japan.

General Tibbets did the right thing, despite what many today would say.  I'm going to get in trouble for saying this, but modern liberalism has made us weak. If we were in a war with Japan today, I don't know if we would have the stomach to stick it out.  I think we would capitulate before the battle of Midway.

Thank God, our fathers and grandfathers stuck with it!

God bless America, God Bless General Tibbets.

[Mojava]

mt

[Latrobe]

We didn't want to invade Japan because of the death toll it would inflict. That's why we told Gen. Tibbets to end the war at all costs, which he did.

[midnight Target]

Originally posted by Mojava
mt

Yes?

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by midnight Target
Yes?

You da ho? I da ho?

[Yeager]

Good post Ongurth.

[john9001]

Tibbets was the pilot, Truman ordered the bombing.

[clerick]

This topic is covered very well in the book "Flyboys".  The Japanese were relentless in their devotion to their emperor, who was merely a puppet to the Generals who had bastardized the Bushido Code and twisted it to fit their needs.  There are a number of Japanese who say that the firebombings did more to end the war then the atomic bombs did.

[Airscrew]

Originally posted by john9001
Tibbets was the pilot, Truman ordered the bombing.

what he said...

[Bruv119]

Heres another take.

Hitler manages to produce a Nuclear bomb before the allies.

Now what would he do with it? and would he have had any reservations for the people of New York?  London?


My guess is that he would have used it.  Total war is to the last man, woman or child.

General Tibbets did his job.  


Bruv
~S~

[68Boomer]

In my opinion, Paul Tibbets was a good man, a Hero. He himself does not seek glory for that day over Hiroshima.

What I find disgusting in this whole situation is the critic's of dropping the bomb twice. How terrible the U.S. was in doing so, how this country is still groveling over it and apologizing to the world for it.

I have yet to see the Japanese Government apologize for the atrocities they committed against Allied POW's. The atrocities committed against civilian populations during their march across the Pacific.

Ask a survivor of the Bataan Death March how he feels.