From: Bob Kiss (bobkiss@caribsurf.com)
Date: 03/04/03-09:54:32 PM Z
DEAR LIST,
I have seen "THE GATES OF HELL" in the garden of the Rodin's house in
Paris. I said to my wife, "That is war!"
But given that the gates were opened for the United States on Dec. 7th,
1941 the rest is a matter of degree. Many thousands more people died in the
incendiary bombings of Dresden and Hamburg than died at either Hiroshima or
Nagasaki. Do you think that any of the victims cared whether they were
incinerated by one bomb or a few hundred? They died terrible, painful
deaths...and that is war. Don't like it? DON'T DO IT! But once the gates
of hell are opened, watch out!
I attended a very curious high school on Long Island, New York. We used
to joke that many of our school mates' parents were " A paradox" (pair of
Docs; i.e. a pair of PhDs). My school mates were named Falk, Bigeleisen,
and Pasternack...their fathers were all PhDs who worked on the Manhattan
Project. They believed they were working against the Nazis in a race to
complete a nuclear weapon. It was their clear intention to use it against
BERLIN, and Japan only if they didn't "See the light" (pun intended). VE
day was, I believe, in April 1945, four months before Fat Man and Little Boy
were finished.
The grizzly numbers were that (approximately) 500,000 allies and
2,000,000 Japanese (mostly women, children and old men as most men of
fighting age were dead, captured or wounded) would die during a conventional
attack on mainland Japan because the Emperor had extracted pledges to fight
to the death from every citizen. Anyone who has read the history of the
attacks on Formosa or Saipan knows the extent to which the Japanese, even
the civilians, would go rather than surrendering. If you have ever spoken
with a Philippino of that generation you will realize that, with the Nazis,
exterminating "inferior races" was a policy...with the Japanese, it was a
passion, after they satisfied a few other passions with their victims.
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!
I have been a pacifist for thirty years so all I am saying is don't open
the gates if you don't want hell. Once you open those gates (war) there is
no longer any way to control the beast.
CHEERS?
BOB
Please check out my website:
www.bobkiss.com
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