Replies

Your post is entirely my point in regards to the Japanese peace feelers that reached MacArthur in January 1945 who said much the same thing, and the time line of Japanese maneuvers bares out at least a few points that are not only worthy of further study, but demonstrate the case is hardly closed.

January 1945 - MacArthur forwarded to the President a Japanese offer to surrender to which was exactly what we accepted 7 months later.

5 April 1945 - Japan appointed Prime Minister Suzuki
Kantaro who was known to be a peace advocate.

8 May 1945 - Japan tried to surrender through the Soviet Union.

I have no doubt you are aware of the school of thought that indicates the bombs were dropped simply to gain a cease and desist from Stalin's advancing armies in Manchuria; that is a radically different scenario with radically different implications that simply military tactics. I'd suggest that historically minded folks like yourself and, as I told A-bert when we had this same discussion elsewhere, more effort be put into rectifying a bridge between the military command and Truman/FDR, especially when one considers Oppenheimer was on the phone to the Stalinists the entire time he was on the federal pay roll to build Fat Man and Little Boy.