Those bombs were dropped because if they weren't, hundreds of thousands of Japanese were going to die anyway but they would've had to have been killed personally by thousands of American troops, many of whom would have died, too.

That's low-balling it.

There are some who estimate that the death toll resulting from a mass invasion of Japan would have rivaled the Holocaust.

I was going to say the same thing samurai.:) The Japanese citizens were anything but innocent, many trained to fight with whatever they had on hand (pitchforks, etc.) and NOT to surrender. The fighting would have been horrendous and bloody for both sides.

While the bombs were horrible, they were the best option.

I like how she's switching "demons" now that sitting outside Bush's ranch hasn't helped her. Didn't she say she was going to go away? Why hasn't she?

As for the rest, you said what I was thinking, and very well.

I like how she's switching "demons" now that sitting outside Bush's ranch hasn't helped her.

But what's even funnier is how the libs she is attacking are now making exactly the same criticisms that conservatives have been making since she first came on the scene. Interestingly enough, this criticism coincides perfectly with Cindy Sheehan's anouncement that she would be running against Nancy Pelosi.

"There was this guy, see, his name was Adolf Hitler and he was not, in point of fact, a "Democrat". (Although I'm sure certain correlations could be drawn.)"

You kill me Rachel. You rock. Well you would if you hadn't sold your Takamine >: ()

Man, I love it when the moonbats and asshats turn on each other.

Everybody wins!

mightysamurai, I think it's hysterical.

Of course there is no need for war if you constantly keep your head stuck in the ground.

There is no need for war, poverty, nuclear weapons, pain, sorrow, and no need for gerbil worming.

Of course you also don't get much air down there, which probably explains it.

If somebody doesn't deliver a mushroom/red bell pepper/garlic/italian sausage/blackeyed pea pizza to me within 20 minutes, afraid I'll have to run against Nancy Pelosi too.

What? You think that sounds like a crazy person's pizza? Well, yeah, I am threatening to run against San Fran Nan - in San Fran. Duh. And besides, all I am saying is give peas a chance.

Those who don't study history are doomed to repeat really stupid stuff!!

Ha! "Bullcorn", lol! Cindy Sheehan is sowing the seeds of "bullcorn"! Thanks Rachel, now I have a favorite new word to use tomorrow...as often as I can. Cindy Sheehan should be force fed her own bullcorn!

Lordy, what I wouldn't give to see Cindy Sheehan's favorite/bookmarked websites...

Hey, don't forget the millions of Japanese that would have *starved* in the winter of '45 (instead of being bayoneted by G.I. Joe/ pulverized by naval gunfire/ incinerated by saturation firebombing/ shot by their own armed forces for 'treason', I mean, retreating) because in '45, Japan was importing the vast majority of its' food from the mainland.

The blockade would have cut the islands off from China and the destruction of the transportation infrastructure by aerial bombardment, in preparation for the landings) would have cut the islands off from each other.

No food coming in, no way to distribute what you already have. Lotta hungry people on those little islands, yep.

IIRC, with the Japanese government prostrate before the Allies and the full logistical might of the Allied occupation supplying them,the typical Japanese citizen got only 1200 calories a day through the rest of '45 and most of '46....

I'm just sayin'.

And - once the Soviets got seriously into the game - what fun it would have been to have a Communist "North Japan" and a non-Communist "South Japan" throughout the Cold War! Another topic for another day.

Three points:

First, as to using A-bombs on Japan, the Allies did not want to repeat the mistake of the First World War. When that war ended, almost all of the battlefields were outside Germany. The Germans believed that they would have won had they not been sold out by people in their government.

Even though we publicly demanded an ultimate surrender and would have accepted a surrender with some conditions, we had to occupy Japan to prevent Japanese ultra-nationalists from starting another war.

Second, Adolf Hitler was a socialist - the head of the German National Socialists Party.

Third, it would NOT surprise me to discover that Cindy Sheehan believes that if she beats Nancy Pelosi, then Sheehan will become the Speaker of the House. I do not believe that Sheehan realizes that in the event of her election to the House, she would take office on January 1, 2009 and that the President would leave his office on January 20, 2009.

Cindy would have only 20 days to get the House to vote on Articles of Impeachment before the whole issue is moot.

Her record of deep analytical thought and long range planning, along with her ability to the dramatic, indicates that she missed her calling: an actress who wants to save the world from - something!