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Path: utzoo!dciem!mmt
From: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: addendum to my flame
Message-ID: <689@dciem.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 8-Feb-84 18:36:09 EST
Article-I.D.: dciem.689
Posted: Wed Feb  8 18:36:09 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 9-Feb-84 19:52:36 EST
References: <534@akgua.UUCP>
Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada
Lines: 22

===================
In round numbers approximately 1 million casualties would
have resulted from the necessary invasion of the main islands
of Japan.  In case you don't remember, the Japanese soldiers
were dedicated, fierce men of war who would fight to the last
man defending the OUTLYING parts of their island empire ( i.e.
Okinawa etc. ). Can you imagine their ferocity in defending
the home islands?
Bob Brown {...pur-ee!inuxc!ihnp4!clyde!akgua!rjb}
===================
According to the history I read, this notion of 1 million American
deaths to invade Japan was an unreal fear.  The Japanese had tried
to sue for peace before the Hiroshima bomb, but the Russians had not
passed on the message (Russia was neutral at that time).  Instead,
the Russians noted that the Japanese recognized themselves to be
defeated, and declared war so as to get a share of the spoils.
There was no need for either bomb to have been dropped, although
it is unlikely that Truman knew it at the time.
-- 

Martin Taylor
{allegra,linus,ihnp4,uw-beaver,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt