Anniversaries

[RICHARD ROMEO]

Should we have dropped the bomb?  Shouldn't have we? I was brought up 
watching World At War with my Dad, who pro-offering of the conventional 
wisdom of the day-"Imagine the casualties if we invaded-look at Okinawa, 
Iwo Jima".  But Dad I said and still say today, the Japs were beginning 
to surrender-look at Okinawa.  However, much in the Japanese high command 
wanted to continue to fight-only the emperor persuaded them it was futile 
to continue.  Lemay's fire-bombing assaults on other cities wasn't too 
pretty either (see Dresden, etc.).  there were some who fought in some of 
those out of the way islands-didn't they find some crazy loon somewhere 
in the Phillipines thinking the war was still on (now it's only economic 
-he must've been amused).  Was it a trump card to use against Stalin?  
Would we have eventually fought the Russians without nuclear weapons in a 
conventional land battle in Europe or later on in Africa?  Think about 
it?  I don't think there is a black/white answer-whatever is in reality?  
However, we good guy Americans must deal with the guilt and by giving 
some phony monument to the Enola Gay sure ain't goin to help-Tippets 
seemed proud of what they did and in some sense who can blame 'em-was he 
or the other deliverers really know the power of this weapon-or was it 
only the Oppenheimers and politicians-they wanted the war over, save my 
ass anyway  (no Bart Simpson thrwarting history here?  right Mr. 
Koopman).  I'm curious how the Japanese respond-yes they have moral 
indignance on their side yet go ask the Chinese et al about moral 
indignance.  We wanted to end the war and give the Soviets much to think 
about.  whether it was right-history don't answer those questions.
Maybe one of the questions was:  Why Nagasaki also?  why build the H-Bomb 
after the "successes" of the A-bomb? or did we need something so horrific 
as these event(s) to prove later that deterrence was the only safe way 
out after crossing that brink.  I'm sure JFK and Kruschev had been 
influenced by Hiroshima in some way.  Unfortunately, 20 years later Star 
Wars-Now where are we? What have we learned?