I think it was the right decision, and I think it saved hundreds of thousands--if not millions--of American service men from dying during a bloody invasion. The survival of America and American citizens should be the top priority of our government. In 1945, America had leaders who knew that.
The military regime in control of Japan was every bit as evil as the Nazis. Japanese culture of the time promoted that the highest glory was dying for the Emperor... it was dominated by a rotten culture of death that has much in common with the ideology promoted by the various Islamic terrorist groups (and even a couple of Mid-eastern governments) today.
So, if you lean toward wringing your hands over the bombing of Hiroshima, you should remember that Japan chose to attack America first. Maybe you should also read about the way Japan murdered hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians while testing biological, chemical, and conventional weapons. Much is said about the evil Americans and their A-bomb in history classes around the world, but hardly a word--if any at all--about Unit 731. When you're done reading teary-eyed accounts of firestorms and radiation burns at Hiroshima, perhaps you can read this piece by Judith Miller about the monstrous behavior of the Japanese in occupied China.
This article about the Japanese atrocities during World War II is also worth reading. (Of course, that article also shows that even in 1940s, America could be its own worst enemy as far as propaganda wars go, as it was us that put the foundation in place that permits the ever-growing denial among the Japanese that they did anything at all wrong during WWII.)
And finally, the author of "Japan's Secret War" has this straight-forward article.
When "put in context" (to borrow a phrase that Oliver Stone has been misuing of late), dropping the atom bomb on Hiroshima was the right choice. Dropping the second one was equally justified and correct.
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