Atomic Bomb: 60 Years Ago the Right Decision by a Democrat

Today, August 6, 2005, marks the sixtieth anniversary of the U.S. dropping an atomic bomb over Hiroshima. For years, there have been debates over President Truman's decision to use the weapon, but those debates have based their views on incomplete information and, sometimes, the inappropriate application of today's standards. With the recent release of previously classified information, the correctness of the decision comes into focus.

Consider the information and analyses in the articles linked below for which excerpts are provided.

The Weekly Standard
Why Truman Dropped the Bomb
Sixty years after Hiroshima, we now have the secret intercepts that shaped his decision.
by Richard B. Frank
08/08/2005

Starting with the publication of excerpts from the diaries of James Forrestal in 1951, the contents of a few of the diplomatic intercepts were revealed, and for decades the critics focused on these. But the release of the complete (unredacted) "Magic" Far East Summary, supplementing the Diplomatic Summary, in the 1990s revealed that the diplomatic messages amounted to a mere trickle by comparison with the torrent of military intercepts. The intercepts of Japanese Imperial Army and Navy messages disclosed without exception that Japan's armed forces were determined to fight a final Armageddon battle in the homeland against an Allied invasion. The Japanese called this strategy Ketsu Go (Operation Decisive). It was founded on the premise that American morale was brittle and could be shattered by heavy losses in the initial invasion. American politicians would then gladly negotiate an end to the war far more generous than unconditional surrender.

National Review Online
60 Years Later
Considering Hiroshima.
by Victor Davis Hanson
08/05/2005

The truth, as we are reminded so often in this present conflict, is that usually in war there are no good alternatives, and leaders must select between a very bad and even worse choice. Hiroshima was the most awful option imaginable, but the other scenarios would have probably turned out even worse.

Was the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan correct?

Well, consider that it took two of them. If one bomb didn't get the attention of the Japanese leaders, then a non-lethal demonstration had no chance. I'm convinced from the data that America would have suffered significant and unacceptable losses had we not used the bombs as we did. If that had been the case, then people today would be questioning why we permitted so many of our military men to die when we had the ultimate weapon but wouldn't use it.

We can learn many lessons from history. Some of these lessons might be applied to our war on Islamic terrorism. So, here's a lesson that Japan learned from the atomic bomb that America's enemies might want to learn today: Don't start something you can't finish.

And, here's a lesson for all the history revisionists and bashers of this country: Get the facts and be honest. Ultimately, the truth will come out and your biases will be exposed. The U.S. should not have to defend itself to you when it is right, and the U.S. should not form policy based upon your analyses when you have been proven so wrong in the past.