Harry Truman

Not Crap
Total votes: 9 (64%)
Crap
Total votes: 5 (36%)
Total votes: 14

President: Harry Truman

31
The bombs were the difference between the offered conditional surrender and the forced unconditional surrender. This also means that the million American lives talked about in the possible taking of the island fill the gap between those two peaces. Both speak to the value of human life when compared to concepts by the people who were in charge of making the decisions of the time.

President: Harry Truman

33
Andrew. wrote:
Johnny 13 wrote:Both speak to the value of human life when compared to concepts by the people who were in charge of making the decisions of the time.


Can you explain this last sentence? I can't parse it.


A peace that would have been acceptable to people who would prefer that to either the massive loss of life the bombs brought, or the loss that would have occurred with an invasion was rejected. The need to have an unconditional surrender, especially one before the Russians were set to enter the Pacific war, required massive death no matter what.

President: Harry Truman

35
Minotaur029 wrote:^No, no...the Japanese were training civilian soldiers to defend all of Japan against invading American soldiers. I can't imagine such a bloodbath.

Makes sense for the Japanese to do such a thing...but Jesus H. Christ, right?...


The Japanese invading us is almost as ridiculous as me thinking that's what you implied, but yeah, resistance would be expected if we invade a foreign country.
Marsupialized wrote:I want a piano made out of jello.
It's the only way I'll be able to achieve the sound I hear in my head.

President: Harry Truman

36
kenoki wrote:One fun tidbit is where he and Stalin keep trying to one up each other (although Truman doesn't entirely trust him) with their parties. Truman has a string quartet... Stalin gets an orchestra.


Truman kills 200,000 Japanese, Stalin kills 20 million Russians, etc....
tocharian wrote:Cheese fries vs nonexistence. Duh.

President: Harry Truman

39
Chromodynamic wrote:
eephour wrote:Truman was too much of a pussywimp to let McArthur go in there and blow up those Commie bastards


I am a bit confused, when you refer to 'those Commie bastards' are you talking about Japan? Or Korea?


He's quoting Rodney Dangerfield from Back To School.
music

offal wrote:Holy shit.

Kerble was wrong.

This certainly changes things.

President: Harry Truman

40
j_harvey wrote:All the military dudes were telling Truman that the bomb would save the lives of countless American troops.

With at least one notable exception:

Eisenhower wrote:During his recitation of the relevant facts, I had been conscious of a feeling of depression and so I voiced to him my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of 'face'. The Secretary was deeply perturbed by my attitude.

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