The
Japanese had made peace overtures, which was why I said that the Japanese would not accept
unconditional surrender. That is an important point that certainly should have been more clearly
stated, even if it is not germane to the question of why the Americans were willing to target
civilians with the attacks.
As for the statement by Truman that he wanted
the targets to be chosen so as to avoid casualties among women and children, he knew perfectly
well once those targets were actually chosen that they were not primarily military
installations. Considering the firebombing of other Japanese cities in the months leading up to
the attacks on Hiroshima, it is difficult to argue that preserving civilian lives was a major
concern of his. Inflicting terrible destruction was.
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