Alternative options, such as pursuing a negotiated, conditional surrender
Yeah, NOT AN OPTION.
or using the bombs on an uninhabited island as a warning were not even explored.
They didn't surrender after Hiroshima, why would they surrender after a mere display?
General Douglas McArthur was not even consulted on the matter, and he would have been against it, as was General Eisenhower.
So?
Ultimately, the decision to drop the bombs was a political move, intended to show off American strength at the expense of the lives of Japanese civilians.
It was , that's true. Bit it was
also a military move to force a quick and final end to the war.
Maybe if an honest exploration of what the options were took place, the use of the atomic bombs may have turned out to be the least undesirable outcome and their usage could have been defensible, but I cannot in good faith endorse the decision as it was actually carried out.
It did. They decided that saving the lives of upwards of a million US soldiers and countless Japanese civilians and military forces was worth it to use the bombs.
Poll
