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I watched a replay of White Light / Black Rain tonight on HBO. It's a documentary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima to bring World War II to a close. I asked my dad once if President Truman caught any flak for the bombing that killed so many innocent people. "Not at all," he told me. And it is probably true that, in the long run, it saved many, many lives. Still, what a horrific four days.
Good grief, it's almost too hard to watch. (But it starts out incredibly slow before it becomes riveting.)
28 comments:
I hope GW watches this and takes notes.
Maybe it shouls be broadcast across Iran a well.
It was certainly a tough watch as I had to turn to the Rangers game during the real horrific moments and back during the Rangers horrific moments.
Since we're not the only ones with the power to do it anymore I think it would be wise if the only thing GW does is take notes.
Japan was ready to surrender, but we had to show those slants what for. Good thing we've improved since then....oh wait.
Japan attacks a military target and its war, the US bombs two civilian targets and it is justified.
And to think that Japan STILL almost did not surrender! Emperor Hirohito was almost taken into custody by an attempted coup, which narrowly failed! History is decisive on this fact--no atomic bombs--no surrender. An invasion of Japan would have been even more horrific than the atomic bombs' destruction--for both sides.
Well here's something a little more horrific that you possibly didn't know.
Germany who was allied with Japan was hot on the trail to developing the Atomic bomb at the same time we were and I can assure you that if we hadn't beat them to it,they would have ultimately used it on us in their quest for world domination.
If that had happened,you and I probably would never have been born.
I watched it last night also. It was horrifying to hear about the graphic details. It is sad for all humanity. I understand that something drastic had to be done to stop the war, and I was glad to see that the Americans came to aid in the aftermath.
Like many, I've sometimes wondered if that horror was really necessary, or at least if the 2nd bombing - at Nagasaki - was necessary. But recently I caught an airing of "The Last Mission" on one of the "history" channels.
This show documents the final mission of WWII, a conventional bombing run over Japan's last oil refinery, made a week AFTER Nagasaki and the night before Japan's unconditional surrender was announced by the Emperor (who had already recorded the message the previous day).
The flight of those bombers passed over Tokyo on their way to the refinery to the north, and caused a general "blackout" in the Tokyo area to be invoked. That "blackout" had the completely inadvertent effect of aborting an attempted military coup by a group of officers who wanted to place the Emperor under house arrest "for his own good", destroy the recorded surrender message, and compel the entire nation of Japan to fight to the death.
They almost pulled it off, but in the darkness of the blackout could not find the pre-recorded surrender message, and met with other delays which resulted in the failure of the coup. It came "that close" to success.
And the world came "that close" to the "million casualty" invasion of Japan.
The bombs are a horror to contemplate. But then, war is a horror to contemplate, particularly with such frivoloties of chance in play.
Just a small lesson for the day.
7:05 - one minor difference - Iran has attacked no one.
I have been traveling to Japan for many years and every single time I have asked a Japanese citizen about the bombings and if there is resentment towards America and Truman, without exception I always hear that they harbor absolutely no ill will toward us because they truly believe many lives were actually saved from what could have taken place and what we could have done to them.
Tough times call for tough leadership and tough decisions.
This one horrific but necessary decision by Truman ended up forging a very strong bond of friendship between two countries, and the Japanese people hold America in high regard to this day.
7:05: Ignoramuses like you never cease to amaze me.
Anon 8:19 try reading history, and check out geography while you are at it. Japan had no problem attacking civilians in Asia - I believe we refer to the worst episode as the "rape of Nanking". Japan would have done the same to us - we are just lucky the Pacific Ocean was between.
There has never been a war won due to attrition of the military. Only when life among civilians becomes unbearable is there a resolution. In this day of instant information and embedded reporters, the general public has no stomach for war. In the civil war, people in the north had no resolve until Lee went to Gettysburg and the south was ready to fight til death until the burning of Atlanta. Civilian casualties are unavoidable and it amazes me how quick our nation forgets our losses. You can fall back on the argument that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction if you like, but the entire world thought they did. I suspect if you want to find those caches, look in Syria. If the liberals weren't so anxious to throw in the towel as soon as things get tough, we wouldn't be in the mess we are in now. Terrorist suspected we didn't have the guts to complete this and it looks as though they may be right.
Both Hiroshima and Nagasaki have grown in population and are major cities now! Those must have been really CLEAN bombs with little or no lasting radioactive effect?
10:22 ANON
You are right, "Iran has attacked no one"...except maybe a civilian boat...no, that was an Iranian government sanctioned religious sect...sorry.
Just because the Iranian government gives terrorist organizations bombs, guns, money and a safe haven, they have not attacked anyone.
Furthermore, I am absolutely certain that the Iranian government is not developing nuclear power to make nuclear weapons; they need the energy since their oil reserves will run out in 2 or 3 hundred years. And even if they were developing nuclear weapons, they haven't attacked anyone...
This reminds me back when the progressive public thought Hitler was of no danger to the world. And when Hitler invaded Europe they thought we should stay out of it. Then, when we were attacked, they shut up until we dropped the bombs and SAVED millions of lives... Millions... BTW, THAT INCLUDES CIVILIANS...you twit.
If Iran (whose government is the most irrational and unpredictable in the world) uses nuclear weapons in, lets say, Israel, I can already hear it, "we should stay out of it", or, "that's what happens when you don't make friends". When Israel throws one back in retaliation, it will be all their fault because that makes them no better than their attackers.
But you will scream from the top of the mountains when gas is $20 a gallon! I know you will blame the government (oil rich Republicans) for not having enough gas refineries... because rioting in the streets in protest is a national security issue.
It truly amazes me how so many people allow themselves to be ignorant of realty because of "what they think". IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT I THINK, YOU THINK OR GW THINKS...reality is reality...
My mad cow is flaring up again...
Oldphilospher, this is 8:28 AM. I read the book "The Last Mission"--a very good read. I also read the Time/Life series on WWII, and in the book on the last days of the war in the Pacific, they also made it extremely clear that the surrender almost didn't happen. I'm glad for 10:27 AM's comment on how the Japanese people view the situation--that it ultimately saved UNTOLD lives for BOTH sides. The invasion would have been an unspeakable horror--again, for BOTH sides!
denney crane, my new best friend. Take that you liberal weenies.
ditto what denney crane said! Hallelujah!!
10:22, 12:21-------------
You see me as an ignoramus. I see a radical Muslim government which attacked American soil and held American citizens hostage, spent the next 28 years fostering terrorism and ignoring many U.N. resolutions, while publicly calling for the annihalation of the ONLY free, democratic state in the M.E.
We need to simply stop teaching history in the school. You obviously made no connection with reality as a result of that class. A dime to a dollar you don't have a clue who Neville Chamberlain was. But you are secure in your opinion of me as an ignoramus.
Better start teaching your kids Farsi.
gleemo: It's ignorami (the plural).
I take it you are also still amazed at SILLY-PUTTY
6:41 - Buddy, you need to be damned careful about calling out gleemonex, that's her at 12:21. She knows everything or at least thinks she does. She went to the big city and got herself a big time East Coast edumacation then moved to "San Francheesy" so she could embrace all things liberal and hate on all things not liberal. If she says someone's an "ignoramus" you can bet your ass she knows what the hell she's talking about, after all she did grow up in Wise County.
If y'all missed the sarcasm in my tone then you need to wake up or learn to pay attention.
I'm too poor to pay attention
Hey BG, I think you got a winner with this one. All this discord is what amuses you, right?
8:25 If you had a 7 figure annual income you still wouldn't be able to pay attention.
Well, I wouldn't say I know everything, but I am a proud member of the reality-based community, which I still persist in believing counts for something.
As to the four-star brass-plated Neville Chamberlain reference: Why bring him up? Do you refer to actual conditions leading to WWII, or are you trying to compare some present-day political figure to him?
By the way, how did we come to this point, when the original post was about the horror of nuclear warfare, full stop? Have we sunk so low that we would wish that horror on fellow humans, even in jest? Do you REALLY want to empty the holes? Wow.
Hey Glee,
Are you willing to die for your freedom?
No, he wants the UN to do it for him.
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