Quote:
Originally Posted by cyde01
hiroshima was a purely civilian target.
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Notwithstand the pure humanitarian horror of the A-bombing of Hiroshima, it was in fact a military target by virtue of the large military presence there (Headquarters, 2nd General Army AND 5th Division) and its heavy industrial manufacturing infrastructure. It was also a key shipping area and communications center. All of these features made H. an obvious military target.
It is also important to note that Japan also was actively developing an atomic bomb under the direction of Dr. Yoshio Nishina and had they succeeded in their efforts, it no doubt would have been deployed against the United States, probably San Francisco via a submarine suicide mission. I have no doubt that the Japanese leadership of the WWII era would have used an A-bomb on America if they could have delivered one.
The same was true about Germany, Britain and Russia; every major power of that period was working on an atomic bomb. The U.S. just got there first. Every nation working on this horrific weapon was driven by the thought that the "other guys" might get there first.
With regard to Nagasaki, I have to wonder why the Japanese leadership did not surrender after the first bomb on Hiroshima was dropped. Surely, they knew what it was, considering that they had been developing the same thing, just with less success. Even after Nagasaki, there still was hesitation on the part of the military leadership; that is why Emperor Hirohito famously stepped in to end the war by surrendering.
Plently of blame on all sides to go around. Facts are important, though.
Getting a bit more back on topic, there is no such thing as race from a biological standpoint. Every human is capable of reproducing with every other human of the opposite sex (notwithstanding the genetic weirdness possible these days with two or even three parents involved). Culture is another matter, but I enjoy all cultures. Just because I have a fair amount of Scottish ancestry, though (ancestors from Edinburgh), I like to make fun of all things Scottish, like The Haggis.
