value at all. Secondly the Japanese might have taken this to mean that the United States lacked the resolve to use such a weapon. Thirdly air defense in cities such as Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have been put on high alert diminishing the chances of a successful nuclear raid. If the bomb failed to detonate, this would spell political disaster for America. Besides looking very foolish, America would have caused even greater diehard sentiments among the Japanese. "They (Byrnes and Groves) believed that if it did not come off "as advertised," the Japanese would take fresh heart and fight harder and longer." (p.98) Determination to fight to the very end would have grown greatly in the face of that American folly. Had the bomb not detonated properly over Hiroshima its existence would not have been exposed nor would its failure. Falling for several thousand feet the bomb would have reached a terminal velocity of several hundred miles per hour and smashed apart upon impact had the detonator not functioned properly. This was the possibility that the scientist in the Manhattan project could have predict most accurately. President Truman's decision to use atomic weapons on Japanese cities is best described as the lesser of evils. With the options available to him, the atomic bombings proved to have the potential for the least casualties for both sides while ending the war quickly. This policy of maximum violence led to the quick end of the deadlock in Japanese politics. Had such a policy not been used the war could have dragged on for months or perhaps years more with mounting casualties on both sides. The political power of the atomic bomb was unmatched and proved to be the only force that could get the emperor to intervene in Japanese politics and stop the hostilities. The atom bomb proved to be the ultimate ambassador in a war where conventional politics were futile....
