Good points. Reminds me, I’m not sure to what extent it’s been solidified as a historical argument, but I know there’s a possibility the US did the nuclear bombings primarily as a means to ensure that Japan would surrender to the US on the US’s terms, rather than Japan losing more directly to the USSR. In other words, it may have been less about “ending the war” and more about solidifying US regional power over Japan. IIRC, the argument goes something like that the USSR’s invasion of Manchuria was imminent and the US knew this, so rather than risk that event resulting in Japan surrendering to the USSR, they dropped the bombs to end things as fast as possible on US terms.
Good points. Reminds me, I’m not sure to what extent it’s been solidified as a historical argument, but I know there’s a possibility the US did the nuclear bombings primarily as a means to ensure that Japan would surrender to the US on the US’s terms, rather than Japan losing more directly to the USSR. In other words, it may have been less about “ending the war” and more about solidifying US regional power over Japan. IIRC, the argument goes something like that the USSR’s invasion of Manchuria was imminent and the US knew this, so rather than risk that event resulting in Japan surrendering to the USSR, they dropped the bombs to end things as fast as possible on US terms.