The Strategic Bombing and use of the A-bomb was Unjustified and Illegal.

You're going to have to present the specific line the U.S. breached and show proof that it was ratified. What does it matter in any case? Would you prefer a certain law be followed over the survival of freedom? Laws are meant to set a standard of conduct. Are you going to obey a law that says do not murder if someone is trying to murder you? If you care an ounce about your own life; you'll retaliate. I think we both can agree abiding by laws whenever possible is appropriate in theory. There are crucial exceptions to every rule and the world doesn't fall apart by breaking a law. Your premise of the actions being illegal is dismissible. The overriding issue is if it was moral or at the least a necessary evil. There are no absolutes in life. Knowing this we can deduce there are no such thing as innocent civilians. How can there be such a thing as absolute innocence? There can't be. Our world consists of varying shades of grey. There is no pure evil or flawless good. Does this give moral justification to go bombing cities wherever we please? No, it doesn't. What it does do is recognize the reality of the situation. Civilians are accomplices to the government. They provide its finances, moral support and backbone. There cannot exist a government without people to rule over. The people under its control legitimatize it by allowing it to rule them. The Japanese were fiercely loyal to their government. The emperor was perceived as a god. The alternative to fire bombing and ultimately nuking Japan would be a land invasion. This would mean far more deaths on each side of the conflict. You have to tell me something. What else are we to do with a country that refuses to surrender? Have you forgotten the Japanese didn't surrender when the first nuke was dropped? The generals even wanted to fight after the second atomic bomb had detonated. You know what you would rather do? You would rather stand on your holier than thou pedestal. You would rather let the Allied forces be annihilated than suffer the fate of having a single Japanese "innocent" civilian die. Do you think the U.S. massacred civilians because it was somehow amusing? It's about survival. You cannot win a war unless the other side is incapable of prolonging the fight. This means economic destruction. Who makes up an economy? It is the people that reside within the country. You proclaim how immoral our actions were. You would stand there while the Japanese raised flags in U.S. cities. You would be preaching how glorious it was in how we stood by our morals. That's if you weren't already dead. That is if you didn't realize how senseless morals are when not followed by others. How useless morals are if a dictator doesn't care whatsoever. Moral advantages don't stop bullets or the imprisonment of people by ruthless dictators. Here's an effortless way to solve this: let's review quality of life if your philosophy dominated the Allied mindset. Afterwards we can decipher what occurred when instead the alignment was with me. You are against purposely bombing "innocent" civilians. This means the enemy is not constrained in resource gathering and will, because they don't care, slaughter your people whenever possible. You have dreadfully skewed the playing field in favor of the enemy. Your beliefs if held by government officials would make it far more probable the U.S. would be under a dictatorship. This dictatorship would revoke the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The standard of living would be that of slaves. You like quotes do you? Here's one for you good sir: "Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!" ~ Patrick Henry How about mine? The philosophy of using whatever means necessary to conquer an enemy that is doing the same? Want to know what happened? The Allied forces won WWII and an era of prosperity like never seen before transpired in the U.S. Europe was in ruins but eventually built themselves back up to an economic stronghold. Wouldn't you say modern Japan is doing remarkably well? Tell me about their freedoms compared to those in WWII. Japan is also producing a rather high GDP. Freedom prevailed. We weren't dominated by the Axis because we saw within ourselves the necessary evil that needed to be taken in order to win. You do not comprehend necessary evils or the consequences of outright refusing to do morally questionable acts. My philosophy prevails over yours because mine adapts to the circumstances. Yours is grounded in a black and white world that feels the means justify whatever end (no matter how horrifying that end is). Your philosophy is doomed to fail.