To Oleg,
1. Those statements were written after the fact by politicians in uniform, or uniforms that became politicians - take your pick.
2. At the time, both the US Army and Navy were totally defensive in trying to justify their existence – other politicians wanted to radically scale them down and rely on nuclear weapons for force projection and defense.
To all,
If you are interested in the debate over the use of the atomic bombs, there are many excellent resources out there. A good place to start would be:
Pathfinder: The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb
http://www.rhodes.edu/library/pathfi...omic_Bomb.html
The guide is not meant to all-inclusive, but should help you to locate books, journals, databases, and Internet resources.
Remember your critical thinking skills:
How to distinguish fact from opinion and bias from reason
How to distinguish between primary and secondary sources
How to evaluate information sources
How to recognize deceptive arguments
How to recognize ethnocentrism and stereotypes
-Gecko