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Showing Original Post only (View all)What the Oliver Stone docu says about the nuclear bombing of Japan is... [View all]
...that the bombs had no effect on the willingness of the Japanese to surrender and that it was the pending invasion of the Japanese mainland by Russian troops that made all the difference.
Furthermore, that not only the bombs did not prompt the surrender, but that they in fact had little to no strategic impact on the war.
Furthermore, that the people in charge were well aware of the fact that the bombs would be of no strategic consequence in the context of the war, and that the decision to drop them had nothing to do with the war and everything to do with showing off the new weapon to Stalin.
Further, that the idea that the bomb saved lives was invented as a post-factum justification and that the number of saved lives kept growing over the years, largely unchallenged by anyone in part because of the fear of being labeled a communist during the McCarthy era.
I have no idea whether this is factual, but it certainly contrasts with the story that is usually told.