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From: ray@othervax.UUCP (Raymond D. Dunn)
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: People don't know their history
Message-ID: <440@othervax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-Aug-85 16:23:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: othervax.440
Posted: Thu Aug  8 16:23:09 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 9-Aug-85 16:43:00 EDT
References: <307@looking.UUCP> <3306@garfield.UUCP> <228@watmum.UUCP> <2260@watcgl.UUCP> <739@lsuc.UUCP>
Reply-To: ray@othervax.UUCP (Raymond D. Dunn)
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>                     ..... perhaps even one bombing on an unpopulated
> area? e.g. Americans tell Japanese to pick a spot, any spot, and watch
> it dissappear.  Maybe I'm wrong but I would be jut as impressed by
> seeing the top of a mountain dissappear as by a city dissappearing.

According to all accounts I have read/viewed on the subject, the option to
invite a Japanese representative to view a test of the A-bomb was indeed
seriously considered but rejected for at least two (reported) reasons:

a) they were unsure of the reliability of the bomb and did not want to
demonstrate a 'dud', and

b) because of the major internal conflict in Japan between the military and
civil authorities, it was doubted whether such a demonstration to a few
individuals would be enough to have any effect.

It must be noted that the US was very much in a hurry to win the war, not
just to save US lives but to preempt the USSR invasion of Japan.  It is
interesting that in the Hiroshima discussions taking place on TV over the
last 2 or 3 days, several "informed authorities" on the subject have queried
very strongly the "500,000 American lives to invade the Japanese home
islands" estimates.  They reckon the figure would have been more like
40,000.

I think also, that in the atmosphere of the times, the militaristic viewpoint
would take precedent over any other.

Ray Dunn.