Reply #115: Thanks...as a history loving person, I love to get as many

[rasputin1952]

perspectives as possible.

I find it incredible that MacArthur thought the idea was horrid, not because of the devastation, but because of the fact the invasion of Japan was now a moot issue. On the other hand...Curtis LeMay thought this was the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel, and was willing to use it on the Soviets, the Chinese and in SE Asia...he was a nuclear nutcase, (he also believed that wars could be won by airpower alone, another absurd idea...people dig in, as wars have shown us time and again, and continue the fight. Far better...avoid war as best one can).

The citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were warned as well. Days ahead of the bombings, radio broadcasts and dropped leaflets warned the people of an impending disaster; at the least, they should have realized they were targeted for the same firebombing as the other major cities of Japan had seen. Point is, the warnings were there, the signs of impending destruction were there, the war was lost for the Japanese...and a few at the top rungs of power let tens of thousands die, and would have allowed millions more to die, for their own stubborness...(reminds me of bush and his cabal).

It has been said, that of all the people w/Truman the day the news of the successful attack, only Marshall was not cheering, nor smiling, and some say, they thought they saw a slight tear in his eye. Marshall was one of the most brilliant leaders this nation had ever seen, and he knew that the genie could never be be placed back in the bottle. He knew that the bomb, and the subsequent "advances" imperiled the world, and as Sec of State, did everything he could to keep a nuclear Armageddon from occuring...starting w/the Marshall Plan, a brilliant maneuver both humanitarian and strategic.