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While not completely rejecting your position, I have some concerns:
1. If the purpose of using nuclear weapons was to prevent intervention by the USSR, it obviously didn't work. My, I'll admit limited, understanding is that this intervention was by agreement with the U.S. If Truman didn't want the USSR getting involved, why did he promulgate this agreement? 2. The invasion preparations seemed too intense just for show. I hate to think of how many GI's, after battling Germany for months were, following a quick "attaboy," shipped to the Pacific rather than going home, as they deserved. For a bargaining chip? This seems to be a Nixonian manipulation well beyond Truman's thinking or ethics. Besides, if we knew we were going to use nuclear weapons, why did we need any more than token preparations? 3. All the evidence I've seen indicates that the Japanese would have fought to the bitter end, with or without Russian intervention. It seems that we would have had to kill virtually every Japanese citizen to end the war without the psychological impact of nuclear weapons. (The physical impact, while truly horrendous, was on the same scale as the fire bombing of Tokyo.) 4. The other side is always the revisionists. The opinions expressed are strictly mine.
Bill Lipton
Michael Kay wrote: Quote from President Truman's Personal Journal July 18, 1945:"...Stalin had told P.M. of telegram from Jap Emperor asking for peace. Stalin also read his answer to me. It was satisfactory. Believe Japs will fold up before Russia comes in..." Photocopies of the journal pages are in Technology Review, August-September 1990. The use of the atomic bomb did not end the war! It was essentially over. There was not going to be an invasion of the Japanese Homeland. The purpose of Truman's using the atomic bomb was to avoid having to share hegemony after the war with Stalin. The arguments that the preparations for the invasion were still going on are correct. There is no need to stop the show until the papers are signed. This is good strategy. The dislike of Stalin by Truman is the reason he wanted to have control over Japan at the end of the war. The previous page in the journal talks of dividing up the colonies and mandates of Italy, which Truman would have to share with Stalin (and possibly the British). July 18, Truman told P.M. (Winston Churchill) of the success of "Manhattan". Truman was out to make certain that Japan surrendered to him before Russia attacked Japan from the Northwest. The above is not revisionist history. It is from Truman's own hand. The revisionist history is that it was necessary to drop the atomic bombs to avoid an invasion of Japan and end the war.*********************************************************** Personally, I also think that the "We have it so let's use it and see how it works." thoughts entered into the decision. Michael Kaymakay@alum.mit.edu |