Reply #205: A few more questions ...

[timbo]

Thank you for your response, however, I have a few more points.

1. Is there a citation to "Diplomatic History"; it appears that there may be more than one journal so titled. Without the opportunity to review the refrenced materials it is difficult for me to determine the value of the opinion stated. Indeed, while not spending an inordinate amount of time, I have thus far been unable to determine the credentials of the primary historians you have cited.

It appears to me that my previously posted question remains unanswered, that is, whether President Truman made a morally and politically efficacious decision based on the information available to him at that time.

2. I should admit to a certain prejudice. I tend to take the ex post facto assertions of an admiral that a naval solution would have achieved an appropriate end result with a grain of salt. Similarly, I am reticent to wholly believe the similar assertions of air efficacy from an aviator or infantry efficacy from an infantry general.

I do recall that an important part of our constitutional form of government is that the control of the military should and must remain in civilian hands. The historial basis of this constitutional imperative is without question; may I assume that you do not disagree with this.

3. In this post, you mention that there were alternatives to the bomb. Please let me know
a. what these alternatives were;
b. the methodology you have employed to determine that these alternatives would have achieved the desired result, the surrender of the Japanese;
c. the number of lives you assert would have been saved, both American and Japanese, should these alternatives had been employed; and
d. the methodology you have employed to determine these numbers.
By you, I am including both you and the historians (I am assuming that they are indeed historians) you have relied upon.

4. I appreciate that you state that you are ". . .using defeated in the sense that they no longer posed a military threat to us since there military was destroyed, they could not even defend their own skies by that time."

Since you apparently believe that the war with Japan ended at some point earlier than surrender, please tell me at what point you, were you the President, would have felt comfortable sending American troops into Japan as part of an occupation force.

Again, thank you.