I’d buy that. Estimates before Iwo Jima were very optimistic. Arguing that ‘Americans had learned their lesson before Iwo Jima, don’t jive with the American estimations of casulties before the battle.
I cannot decide who’s sillier:
- Whimpers festooned with stale certitudes from the likes of Timothy Carney
- Ex-post-facto moralizing from the likes of SeekAndFind
- Cutesy pseudo-analysis, sly redefinitions, unjustifiable modernisms, and casual disregard of annoying details, courtesy of JCBreckenridge.
It’s always fascinating to hear from people who condemn decisions and actions that transpired three generations ago, in dire circumstances. I’m sure you feel very moral in so doing; to no one’s surprise, you believe doing so grants you special privilege to dictate to us lesser mortals. Perhaps you are not aware that it brands you as moral midgets; all the moreso, since you do it at a safe remove, in comfort and security. Which was won for you by the sacrifices and privations of others.
But all that is as nothing, compared to one single point you have gotten wrong: your perceptions are backwards. First, win the war. Then, worry about morality. Trying to reverse the order (which you plainly ache to do) runs the risk of losing the war. After that, all talk of morality stops.
What I said
After Iwo, the allies knew what was in store for them ashore.