Text 36776, 49 rader
Skriven 2006-08-15 15:41:00 av LEE LOFASO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av BOB ACKLEY
Ärende: Frank - take a break
============================
Yo Bob!

>LL>A naval blockade would have worked, forcing Japan to agree to an
>LL>unconditional surrender within six to eight weeks.  However, Truman
>LL>had one problem.  One very big problem - Joe Stalin.

>WD>My point is that most likely Truman and his military advisors wanted
>WD>the USS out of the area. No Potsdam-repeat, no split-up of Japanese
>WD>territory, no commies based in the Pacific. For that purpose they
>WD>needed something quick a decisive which, unfortunately for the
>WD>victims, were nuclear arms.

>LL>The Soviets takeover of the Kiril Islands should give you a hint as to
>LL>why Truman chose to drop atomic bombs on populated Japanese cities.
>LL>To this date, Japan and Russia remain in a state of war, with no
>LL>peace treaty ever having been signed between the two adversaries.
>LL>Remember, Japan and Russia had fought a war just two decades prior to

BA>Closer to four decades, Lee.  The battle of Tsushima Strait - where Admiral
BA>Togo annihilated the Russian Black Sea Fleet - occurred in 1905.

Japan did not wait until 1941 to invade Manchuria.

>LL>WWII.  And that war was brought to a close by U.S. President Teddy
>LL>Roosevelt, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

BA>Which should have given you more of a hint as to timing, 20 years before
BA>WWII started, Wilson was president - or Harding, depending on when one
BA>considers the war to have started.  TR left office in 1909.

The Soviet Union did not formally enter the war in the Pacific until
late in the game, just before the USA atomized Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
But there is no doubt that the two sides were enemies long before then.
Almost immediately after Hiroshima was destroyed, Soviet troops invaded
the Kirile Islands.  And to this day Russia refuses to return those
islands to Japan.

Why did Truman order atomic bombs to be dropped on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki? Being that Japan was already a defeated nation, it made
no sense as a military tactic (a naval blockade would have forced
the Empire of Japan to an unconditional surrender).  UNLESS IT
WAS MEANT AS A WARNING TO THE SOVIET UNION TO STAY OUT OF JAPAN.

--Lee


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