[Aegedius]

Curtis LeMay

So, one person thinks conventional bombs will miraculously start to work, and that's enough for you.

the Japanese were preparing to accept unconditional surrender

We were listening to their top secret conversations. One would think that if they were "preparing to surrender", then perhaps they might have a need to discuss it.

largely civilian populations

Both targets were chosen for their military significance. Finally, what goes unmentioned here is that the bombs saved the lives of at least one million Japanese, who would have died in the defense of their country.

The arguments against the bombs convince me that leftists are terminally unable to think logically.

[fqued]

Oops, sorry, My post 21 in reply to post 16 should have referenced you.

[Doctor Stochastic]

How many Japanese civilians would have died if conventional bombing were continued for several more months?

How many Japanese soldiers would have died fighting the US invasion forces? The Soviets destroyed the Japanese in Manchuria rather quickly so even more casualties must be added.

While the savings of US was the primary objective of the Truman administration (and correctly so), saving Japanese lives was a good idea too. Post war history has vindicated Truman's actions.