Harry S. Truman, Diary, July 25, 1945 "We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark. Anyway we "think" we have found the way to cause a disintegration of the atom. An experiment in the New Mexico desert was startling - to put it mildly. Thirteen pounds of the explosive caused the complete disintegration of a steel tower 60 feet high, created a crater 6 feet deep and 1,200 feet in diameter, knocked over a steel tower 1/2 mile away and knocked men down 10,000 yards away. The explosion was visible for more than 200 miles and audible for 40 miles and more. This weapon is to be used against Japan between now and August 10th. I have told the Sec. of War, Mr. Stimson, to use it so that military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children. Even if the Japs are savages, ruthless, merciless and fanatic, we as the leader of the world for the common welfare cannot drop that terrible bomb on the old capital or the new. He and I are in accord. The target will be a purely military one and we will issue a warning statement asking the Japs to surrender and save lives. I'm sure they will not do that, but we will have given them the chance. It is certainly a good thing for the world that Hitler's crowd or Stalin's did not discover this atomic bomb. It seems to be the most terrible thing ever discovered, but it can be made the most useful..."
General Anami was the War Minister of Japan in 1945. Even though we had dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet Union's declarared war on Japan, this still failed to sway Anami. He demanded that Japan "must fight to the end no matter how great the odds against us!" (John Toland, "The Rising Sun", pg. 910) The leading Democratic Senator,Richard B. Russell, wired Truman day after Hiroshima: Winder GA Aug 7 1945 4:27PM The President (Personal delivery) The White House Permit me to respectfully suggest that we cease our efforts to cajole Japan into surrendering in accordance with the Potsdam declaration. Let us carry the war to them until they beg us to accept the unconditional surrender. The foul attack on Pearl Harbor brought us into war and I am unable to see any valid reason why we should be so much more considerate and lenient in dealing with Japan than with Germany. I earnestly insist Japan should be dealt with as harshly as Germany and that she should not be the beneficiary of a soft peace. The vast majority of the American people, including many sound thinkers who have intimate knowledge of the orient, do not agree with Mr. Grew in his attitude that there is any thing sacrosanct about Hirohito. He should go. We have no obligation to Shintoism. The comptemtuous answer of the Japs to the Potsdam ultimatum justifies a revision of that document and sterner peace terms. If we do not have available a sufficient number of atomic bombs with which to finish the job immediately, let us carry on with TNT and fire bombs until we can produce them. I also hope that you will issue orders forbidding the officers in command of our air forces from warning Jap cities that they will be attacked. These generals do not fly over Japan and this showmanship can only result in the unnecessary loss of many fine boys in our air force as well as our helpless prisoners in the hands of the Japanese, including the survivors of the march of death on Bataan who are certain to be brought into the cities that have been warned. This was a total war as long as our enemies held all of the cards. Why should we change the rules now, after the blood, treasure and enterprise of the American people have given us the upper hand. Our people have not forgotten that the Japanese struck us the first blow in this war without the slightest warning. They believe that we should continue to strike the Japanese until they are brought groveling to their knees. We should cease our appeals to japan to sue for peace. The next plea for peace should come from an utterly destroyed Tokyo. Welcome back home. With assurances of esteem Richard B. Russell, US Senator
hi fairplay, did you know that the USA needs a daily influx of $ 2 billion of foreign funds (i. e. from Europe & Japan) to keep its vastly overindebted "financial system" running at status quo level ? best regards wild
DWIGHT EISENHOWER "...in [July] 1945... Secretary of War Stimson, visiting my headquarters in Germany, informed me that our government was preparing to drop an atomic bomb on Japan. I was one of those who felt that there were a number of cogent reasons to question the wisdom of such an act. ...the Secretary, upon giving me the news of the successful bomb test in New Mexico, and of the plan for using it, asked for my reaction, apparently expecting a vigorous assent. "During his recitation of the relevant facts, I had been conscious of a feeling of depression and so I voiced to him my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of 'face'. The Secretary was deeply perturbed by my attitude..." - Dwight Eisenhower, Mandate For Change, pg. 380 In a Newsweek interview, Eisenhower again recalled the meeting with Stimson: "...the Japanese were ready to surrender and it wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing." - Ike on Ike, Newsweek, 11/11/63
Perhaps we should just cut all foreign aid to other countries around the world, and start collecting the debt from France and other counties who have yet to repay our loans.....with interest of course. Send out Vinnie and the boys from the mob to break a few kneecaps to make sure we get our money. That should just about take care of most of our "financial" problems.
Traderfut....it is hard to tell who said what the way you posted our "dialogue". You know and I know, but still, I always thought you had the time to accurately do your posts. I would like to respond, but the format makes it virtually impossible. However, you said you answered my questions about the stated objective of the Arab nations that invaded Isreal in 1948. When did you answer? I must have missed it. What was the answer? You also said you had already answered my "hypothetical" question. I can' t imagine how you did that, since I had not asked it before. Also, I await a response from you on Max's new thread, "Will an New Palestine End Terror". Hope to hear from you there. Peace, Rs7