tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post27099917303794334..comments2024-03-21T05:30:03.220-04:00Comments on Science teacher: "Greatest achievement of organized science"doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-14958122198558415022014-08-18T10:38:51.923-04:002014-08-18T10:38:51.923-04:00Dear Anonymous,
You could argue "yes," ...Dear Anonymous,<br /><br />You could argue "yes," but "unequivocally yes" suggests you might be underestimating the effect of the USSR's declaration of war. <br /><br />Not saying the answer is knowable, but would argue the answer is certainly uncertain.doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-31855383582157122072014-08-18T10:20:55.088-04:002014-08-18T10:20:55.088-04:00You offer "Anonymous" as an option when ...You offer "Anonymous" as an option when commenting. I can and will provide a real name if necessary. All of the questions have been considered by historians and philosophers in one form or another. The conclusions are debatable. And I posed some of them to my father some years ago, even adding a twist (at the time) of my own asking why an uninhabited area was not used to demonstrate for our enemy the terrible power of nuclear weaponry. Truman had much more to say on the subject including:<br /><br /><i>"I realize the tragic significance of the atomic bomb.<br /><br />Its production and its use were not lightly undertaken by this Government. But we knew that our enemies were on the search for it. We know now how close they were to finding it. And we knew the disaster which would come to this Nation, and to all peace-loving nations, to all civilization, if they had found it first.<br /><br />That is why we felt compelled to undertake the long and uncertain and costly labor of discovery and production.<br /><br />We won the race of discovery against the Germans.<br /><br />Having found the bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans.<br /><br />We shall continue to use it until we completely destroy Japan's power to make war. Only a Japanese surrender will stop us".</i> <br /><br />Based on my own research and analysis as well as my father's comments about the will of the Japanese to fight on, I unequivocally answer your final question as yes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-77085891156882357802014-08-18T08:39:31.050-04:002014-08-18T08:39:31.050-04:00Dear Anonymous,
A fair question, but before this ...Dear Anonymous,<br /><br />A fair question, but before this degenerates into an either/or binary intrawebs match (as often happens with folks named "Anonymous"), a few questions need answering first:<br /><br />Do you know the specifics of how Nagasaki got "chosen"? About the broken fuel pump on "Bockscar"? About the history of the previous bombings on Nagasaki? <br /><br />When (and why) did the Soviet Union declare war on Japan; how might this have changed Japan's end game strategy?<br /><br />Was the Emperor removed? How much does that matter?<br /><br />Was the objective unconditional surrender? Was that objective met?<br /><br />Were there alternatives besides a huge (and costly)land invasion that might have accomplished the same thing?<br /><br />And finally, did the Japanese surrender because we dropped nuclear bombs?<br /><br />doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-21360984191192809742014-08-18T08:15:20.797-04:002014-08-18T08:15:20.797-04:00As a young adult in the early 1960's and horri...As a young adult in the early 1960's and horrified by the atrocities on both sides, I challenged my WWII-veteran father on why it was necessary to obliterate two Japanese cities. Like a lot of battle-weary veterans he talked very little, if at all, about his experiences fighting the Japanese. And he was very patient with his inexperienced and ignorant son; explaining that the Japanese would never have surrendered without an event of the bombings' enormity. I ask you respectfully Mr Doyle, considering the circumstances just what would you have had our leaders do?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-52951736513462490562014-08-17T22:35:03.537-04:002014-08-17T22:35:03.537-04:00Dear Tracie,
I fear our worst atrocities exceed e...Dear Tracie,<br /><br />I fear our worst atrocities exceed even the imaginations among writers today.<br /><br />doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-26709878919302109722014-08-08T10:00:27.070-04:002014-08-08T10:00:27.070-04:00This reminds me of Ollivander talking about all th...This reminds me of Ollivander talking about all the great things Voldemort has done. Terrible, but great.Tracie Schroederhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10237663751076265379noreply@blogger.com