From: user6340@newsgrouper.org.invalid   
      
   Mike  posted:   
   > On 2026-01-16 11:32, Steven Douglas wrote:   
   > > Mike  posted:   
   > >> On 2026-01-15 23:07, Steven Douglas wrote:   
   > >>> Mike  posted:   
   > >>>> On 2026-01-15 17:53, Steven Douglas wrote:   
   > >>>>> 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.   
   > >>>>   
   > >>>> I found it fascinating too, only problem is I have no   
   > >>>> way to validate if it's true, and I don't just trust   
   > >>>> information and I am no expert on these subjects.   
   > >>>   
   > >>> It's obvious that you're no expert on this topic,   
   > >>> but just having a halfway decent education would   
   > >>> have informed you that the basic facts that JTEM   
   > >>> laid out are historically accurate.   
   > >>   
   > >> My education is mostly in Math, Physics and Computer Science.   
   > >> Those are far more productive things to know.   
   > >   
   > > There is a reason that a well-rounded education is   
   > > far more beneficial. Maybe CrapGPT can explain it   
   > > to you.   
   >   
   > You call random trivia a 'well grounded' education?   
   > Based on what you told me before, you don't even know   
   > how to do your taxes.   
      
   An educated person knows the value of knowing history.   
   Again, ask your CrapGPT to explain it to you.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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