From: Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Date: 03/04/03-10:55:48 PM Z
> > Even counting those that died of radiation poisoning later, the total
> > dead in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were fewer than 250,000...ONE TENTH of the
> > estimated deaths from a conventional attack. Insane math? Sure! But then,
> > as I said, if you don't want hell, don't open the gates!
In those days, either our government didn't lie to us so egregiously as it
did later, or we never knew. But even aside from the figures Bob quotes,
we believed what we were told -- that after the first bomb, surrender was
requested -- and refused. Hence the second. Even so, very few Americans
cheered either bomb (although we were almost delirious that the war
ended). We realized fully, well, nobody can realize the future FULLY, but
most had inklings of what had been done and what it boded.... Yet, a good
argument was made that it was the lesser evil.... And given the course of
Japanese militarism for the previous 15 years -- what would have been
better? (That's a rhetorical question. I apologize for continuing this off
topic discussion, & promise to not again, but I thought perhaps the
perspective of THE TIME, rather than hindsight, was pertinent.)
J.
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