Communism

Under the international laws of war as manifest in the Hague Convention of 1907, it was not permissible to target civilians in warfare although it is accepted that it may be difficult to avoid civilian loss of life as collateral damage against military targets. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were against the Hague Convention as well as the historic international (customary) laws of wars, known collectively as jus cogens. While the atomic bombing may have made the end of the war against Japan shorter and overall reduced the number of lives lost, deliberating targeting civilians en masse to obtain a military objective through intimidation is not acceptable. The Germans did it and so did the Japanese and that is why the international community today overall sympathises with the Allied rather than the Axis cause. If we agree that Truman was right, we may also have to agree to sympathise with Hitler or Stalin who used any methods to achieve their objectives regardless of the international laws of war. By his action, Truman showed that he was no more civilised than Hitler or Stalin, just as Churchill did with his bombing of Dresden. While it is difficult to sympathise with a brutal enemy, and the Japanese military were undoubtedly brutal (or rather, the samurai officer class were and the rank and file had to do as they were told or get shot), two wrongs do not make a right and if you cross the line between military and civilian targets you have defied the basic laws of war, that's it and you cannot justify it. While this action may have been strategically convenient to Truman and those who thought like him for various reasons (including making a political point to the Soviets in the anticipated Cold War) it was not morally acceptable to do it. We need to also look more closely at how Truman actually made some of his military and foreign policy decisions - and remember that the decision to drop the bomb was very much one man's decision - Truman's. While some experts argued in favour of the use of the bomb, Admiral William Leahy, a highly experienced and eminent US military leader, advised Truman strongly against it on moral grounds. But Truman was known to be narrow, inexperienced, self-righteous and arrogant. Brought up on a farm and then running a provincial business, he had little knowledge of national, let alone international affairs, and the opposite of the sophisticated and highly educated Roosevelt. When Truman assumed office as President he had no knowledge of foreign policy at all but he made it clear that he despised the generals and admirals as "dumb sons of bitches" - all of whom had in fact a great deal of experience more than he did. He fired top advisers at will and did so liberally. His Presidential methods were While his sacking of General MacArthur during the Korean War might be considered sensible by some people (although it damaged his approval ratings) his sacking of George C Marshall is a lot more dubious. Overall there is a great deal of evidence that Truman was simplistic and decided important issues according to his prejudices rather than looking at all aspects of an issue and coming to a judicious decision taking into account all the experience and expertise at hand from his advisers. For instance on Palestine, it is not disputed that when Harry Truman decided to support the Zionists and back the new state of Israel, he did not take the Arab view into account at all, only the position of the Jews. He also did not consult seriously with his experts, many of whom warned him to consider Arab issues including Marshall, but rather, his old business partner Jacobsen who was Jewish. This is not enough to make a proper decision about something as complex as Jewish-.Arab relations, especially as Zionism was so aggressive and one-sided in its outlook but Truman was bored with the complications of Middle Eastern politics, he just wanted to be instrumental in creating a homeland for the Jews. It is important to see a decision in context, not only outcomes and general principles on which such a decision may be based, but specifically who is taking the decision and on what grounds. This analysis is not encouraging. There is no evidence that Truman ever considered NOT using The Bomb. Truman's mentality was to find a clear line of action based on his personal preferences and stick to it, however, one-sided the basis of it might be, and with dictatorial disregard for the viewpoints of his expert advisers. We are no obliged, as students of history, to adopt Truman's one-sided and ruthless viewpoints uncritically.