the UnitedStates did to Japanese civilians. Japan was losing the war miserably anyway.The only thing stringing the Japanese along was their pride and concern fortheir god, the Emperor. The only reason we would not allow them to surrender was because it wasn’t unconditional. However, in the end it wasthe Emperor that led Japan into surrender and was allowed to remain. So basically it was all pointless. We could have allowed Japan to surrenderearlier, keep their emperor, and avoid killing those innocent people.If the U.S. was not successful in making Japan surrender even withallowing the retention of the Emperor there was always the threat of Russianinvasion. Then if neither of these alternatives worked, then resort to usingthe atomic bomb. But at least exhaust all other alternatives first, right?If feeling sorry for the enemy’s civilians is not in your taste, think about who else suffered from these bombings. Up to two dozen Americanprisoners of war were killed by the Hiroshima bomb. The Nagasaki bombkilled Dutch POW’s and maybe some Americans as well. Over 1,000 7Japanese-Americans who were sent to Hiroshima when the war broke outwere killed also. The statistics go on and on. It was not just the Japanesethat were affected by this catastrophe. Tell the history books to print this version of the story!WORKS CITEDAlperovitz, Gar. The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb and the ArchitectureOf an American Myth. Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 1995.Fasching, Darrel J. The Ethical Challenge of Auschwitz and Hiroshima Apocalypse or Utopia?. State University of New York Press:Albany, 1993.Schull, William J. Effects of Atomic Radiation A Half-Century of StudiesFrom Hiroshima and Nagasaki. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: New York, 1995....
