I already posted about Assad. Saddam MANY times. Under Obama, we've gone from peace in Iraq and a low level police type action in Afghanistan to hot wars in Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Libya. If that's "even handed" I don't want any part of it. Reagan kicked Obama's ass as far as being a diplomat. And in terms of hot wars (zero).
If we followed your plan in Korea, the whole country would be starving and under the rule of a despot.
I don't think we should be in Korea and seriously doubt Kim Jung Ill could've controlled South Korea....more than likely, they'd have gone the way of Tibet with China on the backdoor step...still, we don't need to be involved in that civil war ....If we left in a timely fashion...China would annex N Korea and that's better than Kim Jong Ill or Kim Jong Un......both who were not popular leaders amongst their own poplulation
Reagan fucked over Russia....they offered to eliminate all nukes....Reagan wanted world domination and refused to cooperate with nuclear disarmament...he is the Ceasar of American policy..he also gutted the nation bloating the military and as governor....filled the jails in California to the brim with rural pot growers thus putting their families on the welfare ticket and costing us a fortune to keep them in jail...Reagan was not a hero to me.....Gorbachev was....first Truman fucked Russia, then Reagan did....he wanted Maggie Thatcher's dream of a world empire of English speaking countries....the arms race is directly a result of Reagan's fascination with a Star Wars military end game weapon....Reagan made a speech about the wall in Germany...Gorbachev made it come down
S. Korea would have fallen almost immediately if we'd have surrendered back then. Ike secured peace and established a free and democratic S. Korea; a state that thrives as one of the top innovators (LG, et al) and producers. He didn't surrender or squander the gains made at horrible cost. And Ike was every bit the peace candidate Obama was. Ike didn't have the benefit of hindsight. At least W tried to benefit from it. Obama? Not so much. Determined to prove his brilliance at all cost. In retrospect, that's a big reason tRump won.
Not quite. Reagan wanted Star Wars, so global nuclear war would never be a threat again. The body language in the two pictures says it all. Reagan was not perfect, but he inherited one of the shittiest situations and turned the nation around. A prosperity that lasted decades.
Oh! As an observer to this debate, I hate to enter, but I must set strait this bad information. When you say Truman did not need to drop the bomb, you should set forth the probably alternatives. And then get the Russian role straight. The Russians did nothing in the war with Japan until after the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The Japanese went to the Russian with their intention of conditional surrender. The Russian kept it to them selfs and prepared for their invasion of Japan held territory, Kural Islands Manchurian and Korea. Again nothing from the Russian after Japan was hit with the second bomb even thought the Japanese asked them to inform the Americans. Truman was desperate for solution to what he faced. Invasion of Japan was project to cost some where around One Million US casualties and perhaps more than 10 million Japanese. He had no knowledge yet of the Russians doing any thing. The US did not yet have another bomb in the Mariana's, so Tokyo was fire bombed again, nearly 900 B29s. The Japanese then surrendered, through Sweden I think, and war between Japan and the US ended, but it just begun between Japan and the Russians. Japan could no longer fight the war against the US at that point, but who knows what would happen if we just let them sit there undefeated and uninhibited? Develop their own Bomb? More Kamikazes planes to attack the invasion fleet? Geez! that was not a good idea, they had already inflicted over 300 thousand casualties to the US Navy. Even if nothing happen to strengthen their hand, they could not feed the population under the blockade by the US Navy, so more than likely, every child in Japan would fail to survive the blockade. I can not second guess Truman's decision, I don't think others that do so are correct either. I think there are a hell of a lot of Americans alive today, who's father or grand father's life was save by that decision. More than likely, even more Japanese.
yep....Ike did that......but they've been a free democracy for a long, long time and we're still there....why? I have no idea
sorry Marz...this is not true....he knew...and actually most of the world really hated Japan at the time. Russia had agreed to join forces and make the Japanese defend two fronts and they were already defeated...rag tag at best...the bomb had a bigger purpose....one that I don't agree with...this was one of the causes of the cold war that followed with the Russians.
Truman himself questioned his choice until it caused his popularity to soar....Ike hated the decision...said it was a cowardly way to finish the job
Naw! Several history books on the subject, read one before you correct me. Yes Stalin agreed to open a second front with Japan at Yalta after the Germans were defeated. How ever he did not until the Japanese tried to use the Russians to surrender after the Americans dropped the first bomb. Look up the fucking dates.
Our soldiers and presence there represent a real deterrent against N Korean aggression. If they attack, it would be against the US. We would wipe them from the face of the earth in response. Similar to why we kept a force in West Berlin, which could have trivially been overwhelmed by superior numbers of Russian ground forces. I don't think we need the troops there anymore, and I'd be happy with bringing them home and minding our own business. But if Ike would have tucked tail and run, as Obama did in Iraq, there would be no S Korea now. We have a real deal maker about to take office. A deal with China assuring security and peace in the region that would allow us to bring the troops home is a real possibility.
Ike's piss poor leadership killed many US serviceman. He is not to be revered in my book, But I have no doubt he would have ordered the invasions of Japan even with casualties projected as they were. I am glad he did not make the call.
I have...more than one...I used to really like Truman....found out he wasn't such a hero after some research. Critics have charged that Truman's decision was a barbaric act that brought negative long-term consequences to the United States. A new age of nuclear terror led to a dangerous arms race. Some military analysts insist that Japan was on its knees and the bombings were simply unnecessary. The American government was accused of racism on the grounds that such a device would never have been used against white civilians. On August 6, the city of Hiroshima, Japan remembers those who lost their lives when the atomic bomb fell. Thousands attend the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony annually. Other critics argued that American diplomats had ulterior motives. The Soviet Union had entered the war against Japan, and the atomic bomb could be read as a strong message for the Soviets to tread lightly. In this respect, Hiroshima and Nagasaki may have been the first shots of the Cold War as well as the final shots of World War II. Regardless, the United States remains the only nation in the world to have used a nuclear weapon on another nation. Truman stated that his decision to drop the bomb was purely military. A Normandy-type amphibious landing would have cost an estimated million casualties. Truman believed that the bombs saved Japanese lives as well. Prolonging the war was not an option for the President. Over 3,500 Japanese kamikaze raids had already wrought great destruction and loss of American lives. The President rejected a demonstration of the atomic bomb to the Japanese leadership. He knew there was no guarantee the Japanese would surrender if the test succeeded, and he felt that a failed demonstration would be worse than none at all. Even the scientific community failed to foresee the awful effects of radiation sickness. Truman saw little difference between atomic bombing Hiroshima and fire bombing Dresden or Tokyo. The ethical debate over the decision to drop the atomic bomb will never be resolved. The bombs did, however, bring an end to the most destructive war in history. The Manhattan Project that produced it demonstrated the possibility of how a nation's resources could be mobilized. Pandora's box was now open. The question that came flying out was, "How will the world use its nuclear capability?" It is a question still being addressed on a daily basis. Atomic Bomb: Decision (Hiroshima-Nagasaki) Find short, descriptive links to many of the important documents surrounding the decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan here. The highlight of this website is a convincing interview with Dr. Leo Szilard, one of the scientists on the Manhattan Project, predicting the use of the bomb would start the arms race with the Soviet Union. Report broken link Hiroshima: Was it Necessary? The Atomic Bombing of Japan A fine place to find quotes, biographies, links, and even the diary entries of the President and the Secretary of War regarding Truman's decision to bomb Japan in late 1945. A photo of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, is included. Report broken link Remembering Nagasaki One day after the bombing of Nagasaki, photographer Yosuke Yamahata documented the devastation. View the intense horror of nuclear war by taking this "Nagasaki Journey," then browse through the message boards to see how people were affected by this world-breaking tragedy. Report broken link Conversation on the Existence of the Bomb On July 24 I casually mentioned to Stalin that we had a new weapon of unusual destructive force. The Russian Premier showed no special interest. All he said was that he was glad to hear it and hoped we would make 'good use of it against the Japanese.' -President Harry Truman, Year of Decisions. Report broken link Two atomic bombs
Russians didn't expect Truman to drop the bomb and we dropped it before they could move troops into position.....Russia was pretty poor back then...they declared their own intentions after the bomb was dropped...some say in shock....this incident was the seed of the nuke race...after dropping the bomb...Truman bragged about the new found power, threatened to use it anytime and Russia stopped thinking of us as a friend.
The period documents tell a different story. The US was well aware that Japan and Russia were in talks to end the war, and that Russia intended to control half of Japan when it was a done deal.
The US, Britain and Russia had those talks so of course they were aware.....we just didn't mention the bombs
