I Still Owe the Military Nothing

lewrockwell.com ^ | February 4, 2004 | Brad Edmonds

[BCrago66]

Yet more proof that LewRockwell.com = Whackjob.com

[Democratshavenobrains]

Yep, Nazi Germany was NEVER a threat to America...until they would have consolidated Europe and Russia.

[reagan_fanatic]

Lew Rockwell - proof that intelligence is an option, not a necessity.

[Tennessee_Bob]

We don't need a standing federal military. If someone invades, militias can pop up, with rifles and perhaps a government commission (while we still have forcible government) to get the job done and then disband until the next invasion.

A "popped-up" militia standing up against a professional military force that is here as an invader - and succeeding - I don't see it happening.

[verity]

And Edmonds is the chief whacker!!!

[Democratshavenobrains]

Uh, so do LewRockwellites EVER see a reason to go on the offense and invade an enemy country? Because militias would not be the best way to go about that.

[RebelBanker]

A "popped-up" militia standing up against a professional military force that is here as an invader - and succeeding - I don't see it happening.

He must have watched Red Dawn a couple too many times. Even a trained militia force would need a lot of support to be able to beat a better-organized force.

[Michael81Dus]

Sir,

I suppose this was about our last arguement:

Hitler and Germany never constituted a credible threat to the US, and Hitler himself made no secret that he thought the new world order should consist of Germany, England, and the United States.

I don´t want to re-open the discussion, just give note that my opinion cannot be that dumb.

Sincerely,

Michael

[RebelBanker]

...Truman bombed Japan because the Japanese demanded as their only condition of surrender that the emperor remain emperor. They continued to demand this after both bombings, so Truman just gave in. The bombings were for nothing. And with no retaliation for Truman or the US to fear, Truman still stopped, and gave the Japanese what they wanted...

Proof that the author does not know history either. The casualty estimates for Operation Olympic - the ground invasion of mainland Japan - were in the millions on each side. Two atomic bombs convinced the Japanese government that further resistance was futile.

[cynicom]

Awful lot of verbage by the author, trying to defend his own original statement. That is usually a sign of a man that is a tad insecure. If his original story could not stand on its own, trying to prop it up is even more telling. If differing opinions hurt his very sensitive nature, so be it.

[cubreporter]

What a no nothing....simply amazing.

[2banana]

Japan was goaded into Pearl Harbor

Indeed, to prove the disincentives work: Truman bombed Japan because the Japanese demanded as their only condition of surrender that the emperor remain emperor. They continued to demand this after both bombings, so Truman just gave in. The bombings were for nothing.

Mr. Edmonds still needs more history lessons. At least he now acknowledges that the US has been attacked other times than just Pearl Harbor.

The Japanese were never going to surrender. They were going to fight tooth and nail for the home islands. America was preparing and planning on 1 million US casualties for the invasion of the home islands

I leave a sneak attack that lead to a major war because someone was "goaded" for another poster...

[JohnGalt]

LOL

I thought you Southern boys shunned federalis history?

MacArthur and Ike were quite clear the bombs were unnecessary to achieve a negotiated surrender.

[Lokibob]

Nothing can "Pop Up" if the guns have been taken away.

[JohnGalt]

I would at least consult non-gubmint history before making such a claim, this being a conservative web site and all.

[Prodigal Son]

I don´t want to re-open the discussion, just give note that my opinion cannot be that dumb.

Lew Rockwell is a nutter.

[Publius6961]

This idiot got his freedom from a box of cornflakes?
Can you say... fruits and nuts?

[2banana]

From http://www.ww2pacific.com/downfal0.html

World War II in the Pacific
Operation Downfall
The Invasion of Japan

---

Operation DOWNFALL, the invasion of Japan, was in two components scheduled for the Fall and Spring of 1945-46:

Operation OLYMPIC, Nov 1, 1945, after the hurricane season, before winter. General Krueger, Sixth Army, with nine divisions (3 more in reserve) was to invade three beaches in southern Kyushu, the southern-most of the four Japanese home islands. This was to became a giant airbase to support the next invasion phase in the Spring of 1946. The Japanese had correctly predicted our invasion point and had reinforced Kyushu threefold over initial US expectations.

Operation CORONET, March 1, 1946, of Honshu, the main island, with 22 divisions in the Spring after air fields on Kyushu allowed landbased air support. There were to be two prongs:
General Hodges, with the 1st Army to land east of Tokyo, clear the peninsula, establish air fields, land tank divisions transferred from European, about 30 days, then charge across the plains to take the capital.
Ten days after the initial landing, LtGen Eichelberger with 8th Army was to attack west of Yokohama, Tokyo's seaport, open Tokyo Bay and block any reinforcement of Tokyo.

U.S. PREPARATIONS
The previous phase of the war had been the capture of the Marshalls --Saipan, Tinian and the US island of Guam during June, July and Aug 1944. These were captured to provide air fields within the effective range of B-29 Superfortress, very heavy bombers. Previous attempts to fly B-29s from inland China could only reach the southern portions of Japan with minimal bomb loads and required an impossible to maintain rate of logistics. B-29 attacks started in November 1944, by March 1945, Tokyo, Osaka and other industrial cities had been bombed
Iwo Jima was taken in Feb-March 1945 to provide an intermediate airstrip for damaged B-29s, for fighter escorts, and for shorter ranged B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. Air attack was ratcheted up to 300 plane raids and the attack method changed from explosives to incendiary in which 15% of Tokyo was destroyed in the first raid.1
Air dropped mining began in March 1945 in the Shimonoseki Straight, separating Kyushu and Honshu, to isolate the invasion island. Over 120 ships succumb to these mines.
Submarine efforts were concentrated in the Sea of Japan, on the northwest coast, while carrier task forces concentrated on the Pacific Ocean side.
Preparation for the invasion began with the Okinawa campaign. This is the largest island in the Ryukuyu Islands, the chain nearest to Japan. The native Okinawans were of Chinese extraction but had been an independent kingdom for 800 years until Japan invaded in 1875. Annexed, they continued a race apart, looked down upon my Japanese.2

Carrier Task Forces. The first strike on Japan's home islands was the period 18-22March 1945 to disrupt attacks on our invasion fleet as it approached Okinawa. Raids by 11 fleet carriers and 6 light carriers destroyed aircraft such that the Japanese air attacks on Okinawa were delayed until 6 days after the landings.
Remnants of the Imperial Navy were destroyed in their yards at Kure (near Hiroshima) on the main island of Honshu during early July.
Two fleets were to participate in Olympic: The Strike fleet with 21 carriers, 10 fast battleships and their train. The Assault fleet had 1,500 transports and 800 warships including 26 carriers and 13 battleships.

Operation Zipper by Lord Mountbatten's southeast Asia command was to take Singapore and the Malay Peninsula about 1Sept45. Also, the US China theater was planning to take the Liuchow Peninsula, west of Hong Kong, in mid-August as a port to supply China.

JAPANESE DEFENSES

Troops. Japan was scrapping the bottom of a big barrel. Two million new recruits were called up and experienced Armies was brought back from China and Manchuria to defend the homeland.

Kamikaze. Numbers of about 2000 Navy and 3500 Army airplanes have been cited as available for the defense, and of course, preparations would have continued with 500 mini-subs under construction, specially designed aircraft build, motor boat and manned torpedo stations established. Japanese military was committed to and was convinced they could repel the initial assault. That we might make as second assault was too much to consider. 1,465 Kamikaze had attacked at Okinawa, 400 miles away, had sunk or damaged 250 warships. A ratio of 1 hit per 6 attempts. Troopships sailing into waters adjacent to Japan, they thought, didn't stand a chance. US planners estimated 250 hits; Japanese planners expected 480 ships sunk. See suicide page for a range of special attack (suicide) weapons used by the Japanese.

Expected casualties. By this stage in the war, the overwhelming American material condition had reduced the ratio of American killed vs. enemy. The assault by Pacific trained Army troops from the Philippine Campaign and combat hardened Marines lessened the expected causalities on the American side. Conversely, first rate Japanese troops with pre-war combat experience in China -- which had made the initial conquests in the Pacific against inexperienced Allied troops -- had mostly been killed. The combat trained troops in China had been replaced with secondary troops -- these now experienced troops were recalled to defend the home islands. These troops had never been exposed in China to the massive air attacks that were now normal operations from US land and sea forces. Japan's naval ships had been destroyed. Japan had never had an adequate new pilot training program. Industrial resupply was dramatically weakened with every war facility destroyed as soon as it was discover by American air reconnaissance. Raw materials had been cut off as the merchant marine was destroyed by American submarines and aircraft.

Usually omitted from the statistics, however, because the atomic bomb was a secret, is the 300,000 white slave laborers held by Japan. Most of these were to be executed if the invasion had happened. The appearance of the atomic bomb brought such a sudden end to the war, that these lives were saved, along with the expected military casualties of both sides and massive numbers of Japanese civilian population either participating in the defense or as collateral damage.

Prospects of Operation Olympic. Japan fully expected to be able to repel the first landing with the help of suicide tactics. As shown at Normandy, the Americans expected to overpower all in their way. The U.S. expected to have air superiority, which places an imposition on the defense. The Navy expected to interdict all movements of resupply and reinforcement.
Best guess, the attack would be a repeat of "bloody Omaha beach" with a successful American landing. The plan called for sealing the mountains rather than fighting an Okinawa type campaign. The goal of establishing air bases would proceed as an American specialty. There would be continued casualties, but the goal accomplished.

CORONET . With American aircraft numbers measured in the 5-digits by aircraft type, and Japan's total aircraft numbers measured in the 4-digits, possibly 3-or 2-digits after Olympic, it is inconceivable why Coronet should happen. Japan could be allowed to suffocate under a siege with sea and air attack. No item of military importance would exist within 10 miles of the shore or any item that could be seen from the air. However, if Japan had persisted, it could only be because of great resistance at Kyushu. The momentum of war would have followed the plan. Invasion of Honshu would have been brutal with total destruction of every square yard before the troops and ruthless combat. The atomic bomb not only saved many Japanese lives, it may have saved the nation. With surrender, the occupying troops could be magnanimous in the American manner. If they had to fight fanatical resistance, they would have been compelled to destroy everything in sight as a potential military threat.

[TheGeezer]

They were still never a threat to us, with our without our military.

This isn't even plausible revisionism, based, I presume, upon emotion wrung from 20-20 hindsight. The assertion deprives the article of credibility.

Without deterrent, even clunky Soviet technology would have struck the U.S. The USSR would not have occupied the U.S. since that would have proven too expensive. However, Comintern Marxist theory required only control of all means of production internationally. That in turn required an organized, central bureau, and the natural candidate for such a large enterprise was the USSR Politburo.

To achieve domination of all means of production by the USSR only required neutralization of U.S. influence (and so, power), and that did not require occupation of the U.S., only its actual or virtual disarmament, either by war or intimidation.

The Cuban missile bases made the innaccurate Soviet missile technology a genuine threat. To say the USSR was never a threat is patently irrational.

Interestingly, American liberals of that age wanted to strip the U.S. of its nuclear arsenal. The Venona Papers have revealed that some liberals went further than merely advocating a change in domestic politics, actually spying for the USSR to catalyze change, presumably for the greater good of humanity.

Fortunately for us, liberals (like Kerry, McGovern, and Ted Kennedy) who repeatedly voted to reduce defensive preparedness, were thwarted by hawks in both political parties (and by Ronald Reagan in particular). The result: the collapse of the USSR, international communism, by and large, and nearly complete removal of the danger of nuclear destruction of the world. Why liberals hate this remains to me a mystery, except that in hating our nation's liberty they succeed in expiating some imaginary guilt rising from perceived unnecessary prosperity.

Unfortunately, neurosis is no basis for foreign policy. I hope the general electorate realizes that.