Saturday, August 4, 2012

Truman's Grandson

From the RT:
"Truman’s grandson unapologetic for WWII US nuke bombing of Japan"

The grandson of former US President Harry Truman, who ordered the use of nuclear weapons against Japan during World War II, has met with survivors in Tokyo. But his visit isn’t exactly filled with apologies.   The visit was “a good first step to healing old wounds," Clifton Truman Daniel told AFP. He was unapologetic, however, for the actions his grandfather ordered nearly seven decades ago. “I can't second-guess my grandfather. He always said that he made that decision to end the war quickly. That's what he believed,” he said. Daniel told the Japan Times that he is frequently thanked by WWII veterans, who say his grandfather’s decision saved the lives of servicemen.  His visit coincides with a ceremony commemorating the 67th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the first and last wartime use of the weapons of mass destruction. Daniel is the first relative of President Truman to attend the ceremony. Under Truman’s orders, American pilots dropped ‘Little Boy’ on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The bombing resulted in the deaths of some 166,000 people. Truman then ordered the US Air Force to drop ‘Fat Man’ over Nagasaki on August 9, killing an additional 60,000 to 80,000 civilians.

^ I do not think any relative of Harry Truman or the United States Government itself ever has to apologize for dropping the atomic bombs on Japan during World War 2. The Japanese started the war when they bombed Pearl Harbor and did unspeakable things (death marches, medical/chemical experiments, beheadings, etc) to both POWs and civilians. The fact was that the Japanese people felt anyone (whether Japanese or American) who surrendered was dishonorable and deserved whatever kind of punishment they got. With that logic (if you can call it logical) shows that the Japanese would never surrender without fighting to the last man. That would have prolonged the war and killed thousands, if not millions, more Americans - especially if we had to invade the Japanese islands themselves. If the Japanese had surrendered after we dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima then we wouldn't have had to drop the second one on Nagasaki. It was the Japanese own stubbornness and beliefs that forced us to drop the bombs. In the end, dropping the two atomic bombs forced the Japanese to finally admit defeat and surrender. Innocent people died when the bombs fell - as they do in all wars, on all sides - but the blame for their deaths should be placed solely on the Japanese Government in power at the time (as it should also be for the Nazi Germany Government.) ^



http://www.rt.com/news/truman-nagasaki-hiroshima-wwii-atomic-bomb-795/

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