From: user6340@newsgrouper.org.invalid   
      
   JTEM  posted:   
   > On 1/15/26 7:33 PM, Steven Douglas wrote:   
   >   
   > > Some estimates are that 30 MILLION lives were saved when   
   > > the Japanese leaders came to their senses and surrendered.   
   > > Not that any of this information will affect your moral   
   > > confusion, which I'm sure you will continue to exhibit on   
   > > a regular basis.   
   >   
   > I have a very different perspective.   
   >   
   > The Japanese were not signers to the Geneva Convention. They   
   > were opposed to the very idea of "Rules of war," and from   
   > the beginning SHOCKED the allies with their cruelty. They   
   > regularly enslaved, tortured and even murdered prisoners.   
   > They conducted rape on an industrial scale, quite literally,   
   > forcing women to serve their ranks as "Comfort Girls" i.e.   
   > prostitutes. They conducted medical experiments on prisoners,   
   > both military and civilian. They laced cigarettes with opium   
   > for sale in their conquered territories to make them even   
   > more addictive. They even employed chemical and biological   
   > weapons on occasion. And, for the defense of their homeland,   
   > they were mobilizing, WEAPONIZING the entire population.   
   >   
   > Ending the war meant invading Japan and invading Japan meant   
   > a war against the population. Not an army but the population,   
   > because the Japanese war machine had mobilized/weaponized the   
   > civilians.   
   >   
   > The U.S. military stockpiled chemical weapons -- nerve agents,   
   > I believe -- for use in the invasion BECAUSE they would not   
   > be fighting an army but literally EVERYBODY. They wanted an   
   > area weapon. They also had already slugged it through insane   
   > battles with the Japanese held up in any hole the could dig or   
   > cave they could find. Gas is a great weapon.   
   >   
   > Oo!  The Japanese view that the lives of their own people were   
   > without value also came at a price. Banzai charges, suicide   
   > missiles and subs, feigning surrender to attack the soldiers   
   > taking them prisoner... the wounded murdering medics trying to   
   > help them... KAMIKAZE ATTACKS...   
   >   
   > The problem here is the mentality. After spending every waking   
   > moment trying to convince your enemy that your lives are   
   > absolutely worthless, your enemy starts to believe you. AND   
   > THEN the allies find out that the entire population -- men,   
   > women & children -- were being mobilized as suicide fighters!   
   >   
   > Why wouldn't you gas them?   
   >   
   > And once the atomic bombs were ready, why not drop them   
   > instead?   
   >   
   > Given what was going on THEN, given what the men fighting that   
   > war SAW WITH THEIR OWN EYES, what THEY EXPECTED TO HAPPEN TO   
   > THEM, what they were going to have to do... why not just nuke   
   > them?   
   >   
   > BUT, there was one more factor:  Stalin!   
   >   
   > Stalin had entered the war. The allies didn't just want Japan   
   > to surrender, they wanted Japan to surrender QUICKLY, before   
   > Stalin gobbled up too much of Asia for the Soviet Union. Only   
   > the "Atom Bomb" offered hope for that.   
   >   
   > I honestly have no doubt that ANYONE, or virtually anyone, who   
   > lived at that time, knew what was at stake, knew how Japan had   
   > conducted the war and knew what American troops could expect...   
   > I don't believe that ANYONE would have said "No" to the bomb.   
   >   
   > Anyone who claims otherwise is either mistaking their hindsight   
   > for insight or is sadly misinformed.   
      
   Wow, that was an excellent post. Sometimes you amaze   
   me with the clarity of your opinions, and this one   
   is as good as it gets. I just hope Mike is able to   
   comprehend what you wrote.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)