Subject: Enola Gay: Burnt flesh and other magnificent technological
From: RogerM
Date: 12/13/03 7:12 AM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id:

Peter Aitken wrote:

1) We could have dropped the bomb in a lightly populated area to show the
Japanese that we had it and hopefully scared them into surrender. Note that
Hiroshima and a couple of other cities were spared conventional bombing so
the effects of the A-bomb could be studied - rather cold blooded don't you
think?


Correct. The bombs were dropped on cities in order to cow the Japanese
and to threaten the Russians.

2) We did not really need to invade Japan. They were beaten with no
credible
air or naval threat and could have been sealed off. Thus the argument that
the bombs saved the undoubtedly high casualties of an invasion is specious.


Correct again.

--

"I swear on my grandmother. I wouldn't break that." - Jon Dalton,
Survivor 7

The ultimate purpose of humanity is to judge God.

I find that while malice and greed are prime motivations in human
behavior, it is a serious error to discount basic human stupidity.


Nothing to say about the Holocaust. The rape of Nanking, The Bataan death
march, Pearl Harbor?

Regards,



Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer