[Thermodyne]

Originally posted by President Elect Shang:
Here is that comparison to Nazis again. This has come up in another thread. Does anyone here think that comparing acts of genocide can really be equated to what has happened in WW2? I don’t think so; yes America did a terrible thing, however, for what ever reason [surrender of Japan, etc] the fact is it did stop and no one had the intentions of genocide. There are many other closer approximations that can be made when looking into a historical context for comparisons.

The bombing of civilian populations in the enemy’s homeland is not genocide. It is not a kind thing to do, but it is not genocide. When a country goes to war, its people go with it. And to support 1 fighting man in the field, about six or seven non-fighting soldiers are needed. Each of these is supported by 7 to 22 civilians. And often, it is these civilians that are found to be the least defended targets. Strategic bombing was tested in Spain. It came of age in WWII. In the late 50’s and early 60’s, the weapon of choice became the rocket. To wage an all out war today would doom all of your major population centers to death in a few hours. I think that this is the only reason that there has not been a third world war. No one is willing to pay the price. When the cost was spread out over a series of years, and the killing of cities took thousands of aircraft, the risks were acceptable. Today they are not. And atomic weapons are the reason this stalemate occurred.

But none of the terrors of a strategic war can be compared to the actions of the Nazis. And the treatment of POW’s by the Japanese is almost as bad. The actions of the allies and the use of atomic weapons are part of war. The government has an overwhelming obligation to bring the war to an end as quickly as possible with as little loss of life by its citizens as can be achieved. The two fission devises dropped on Japan were in keeping with this mandate.