• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Hiroshima Bombing vs. Torture

Hiroshima Bombing vs. Torture

  • Hiroshima was worse

    Votes: 10 41.7%

  • Torture is worse

    Votes: 4 16.7%

  • Hiroshima was neseccary

    Votes: 20 83.3%

  • Torture was neseccary

    Votes: 7 29.2%
  • Total voters
    24
Orius said:
Humans acting in their own best interest vs. using war to accomplish such an end are mutually exclusive values. Just because humans act selfishly does not mean they will always use the same means to achieve that end.
Click to expand...
As I aaid -- resolution of a conflit of interest thru the use of force. That's all war is. So long as their are colflicts of interest, there will be war. War and 'best interest' are mutually exclusive -- the former is a means to achieve the latter.

And wars are on the decline, despite what popular media would have you believe. There is not nearly as much war in the world today as there was even 200 years ago.
Click to expand...
Hm. Show that to be true.
There are wars everywhere in the world, at present. There has not been a major war since 1945 due to nuclear deterrence, but there have been innumerable minor ones.

Well, the country you live in is a warring nation, so of course you have been brought up to believe this.
Click to expand...
On the contrary -- I believe tis beause it is true. Humans acting on their own best interest has not changed since there have been humans -- say nothing of the last 1000 years.

This is an interesting idea, something I agree with.
Click to expand...
Good!
 
Inferno said:
They were willing to surrender they were not willing to surrender on our terms. They wanted it their way. So the bombs were BS>
Click to expand...

I don't understand. We were winning and they would not surrender under our terms but only their own? They were not in a position to demand anything, they just didn't know it yet. I call that not surrendering, so would any general who is winning.
 
Blackdog said:
I don't understand. We were winning and they would not surrender under our terms but only their own? They were not in a position to demand anything, they just didn't know it yet. I call that not surrendering, so would any general who is winning.
Click to expand...
not to mention that we already knew they were planning to use chemical and biological weapons if we attacked the island of Japan, and we knew what they had done to our troops in their POW camps. The japanese got off lucky...
 
Blackdog said:
I don't understand. We were winning and they would not surrender under our terms but only their own? They were not in a position to demand anything, they just didn't know it yet. I call that not surrendering, so would any general who is winning.
Click to expand...

Well, apparently, the only legitimate way to win a war is if the enemy says it's OK.
 
the fire bombings of tokyo were worse than the nuclear attacks
 
Arch Enemy said:
I would say that Japanese proper (the Monarchy) was willing to surrender, but the Monarch was not the decision-maker at the time. The military Generals who told soldiers and soldiers family that their duty was to protect their island.
Click to expand...

Who was the great Japanese general or something another who said the famous "I fear we have awoken a great dragon" during Pearl Harbor?
 
dirtpoorchris said:
Who was the great Japanese general or something another who said the famous "I fear we have awoken a great dragon" during Pearl Harbor?
Click to expand...

It was "A sleeping giant" and if I am correct it was Admiral Yamamoto.
 
I kinda think that what tipped Truman in favor of using the A-bomb was the battle for Okinawa. Capturing or defending Okinawa was critical for each side because the island is situated close enough to Japan to base attacking Allied bombers there. The Japanese recognized this vulnerability and defended the island fiercely. In the battle for this island, the US Navy alone lost over 12,000 sailors just to kamakaze attacks on her warships. Total Okinawa US casualties were horrendous. I think what occurred at Okinawa helped convince Truman that any invasion of Japan proper would result in catastrophic losses to Allied forces.
 
A side question to those who believe bombing Hiroshima was unnecessary: How many American lives would you have been willing to sacrifice keeping the pressure on the Japanese government until they finally decided to surrender?
 
Blackdog said:
So what? He is accredited with it because of the movies. In essence whether he said it or not it was correct.
Click to expand...

All the statement does is sum up what he thought at the time. That is what is important. Not that he did not actually utter the verbatim statement.

Less dramatic was his statement "after that, I have no expectation of success" in reference to the time period of 6 months after Pearl Harbor.

American is just being nitpicking without regard for the value of the underlying notions.
 
Blackdog said:
It was "A sleeping giant" and if I am correct it was Admiral Yamamoto.
Click to expand...

Yes it is attribut to him but over the past few years it has come out that he never actually utter those exact words.

This is the quote that most folks know,

I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

But according to Hiroyuki Agawa author of The Reluctant Admiral this is what he actually said,

"A military man can scarcely pride himself on having 'smitten a sleeping enemy'; it is more a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten. I would rather you made your appraisal after seeing what the enemy does, since it is certain that, angered and outraged, he will soon launch a determined counterattack."
 
Scorpion89 said:
Yes it is attribut to him but over the past few years it has come out that he never actually utter those exact words.

This is the quote that most folks know,

I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

But according to Hiroyuki Agawa author of The Reluctant Admiral this is what he actually said,

"A military man can scarcely pride himself on having 'smitten a sleeping enemy'; it is more a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten. I would rather you made your appraisal after seeing what the enemy does, since it is certain that, angered and outraged, he will soon launch a determined counterattack."
Click to expand...
The quote everyone "knows" is actually the closing line from the movie Tora! Tora! Tora!
 
Scorpion89 said:
Yes it is attribut to him but over the past few years it has come out that he never actually utter those exact words.

This is the quote that most folks know,

I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

But according to Hiroyuki Agawa author of The Reluctant Admiral this is what he actually said,

"A military man can scarcely pride himself on having 'smitten a sleeping enemy'; it is more a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten. I would rather you made your appraisal after seeing what the enemy does, since it is certain that, angered and outraged, he will soon launch a determined counterattack."
Click to expand...

If those are his real words then they are better and awesomer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom