re: #249 William Lewis

I’d suggest you read further. The first bomb was necessary to end the war without either an invasion (army plan) or a genocidal starvation blockade (navy plan). The second one had more to argue about but I believe it was valid as it proved the first bomb was not a one off device and hinted we could do it again and again - both the Japan and to the Soviets.

And there were a lot more lives at stake, in addition to would-be American invasion force and Japanese home island civilians. Ending the war quickly, with unconditional surrender, also meant the Japanese forces rampaging through China, Indonesia, Korea, etc stopped what they were doing and went home. That’s another probably 10,000 deaths PER DAY if the war had continued.