The Anniversary of Hiroshima

[Burgess, John]

Hoping to avoid flame-wars, I nonetheless find this a bit disingenuous...

I don't see a "disinclination of the American public" to examine the 
decision making process.  What I DO find disturbing is the 
all-too-commong attempt to analyse history with contemporary measuring 
sticks.  That is what caused the fracas at Air & Space, not the Pentagon, 
not the Congress.

Veterans and historians (even amateur ones) took great exception to an 
exhibit that showed how terrible the bomb was, but somehow failed to 
mention what went before (specifically, the scale of atrocities 
perpetrated by the Japanese war machine, not only on Americans, but on 
Asians).

One of the features of American society is that people do get to write to 
their Congressmen when they get bent out of shape over something.  And 
sometimes the Congressmen respond.... I think that's the way it's 
supposed to work.  Not only when it's MY ox being gored, but everybody 
else's, too.

The Farm Hall transcripts are indeed interesting, but their "candid 
nature" has been questioned almost from the day they were made.  The 
question was:  did the German physicists know they were being recorded?  
If they did (and that is the current assumption), then what they said was 
being said for posterity, not just a bunch of joes discussing the office. 
 I think it makes a bit of difference in interpretation....