The dropping of the Atomic Bombs on Japan was the right thing to do.

Thanks, Con.C1. Japan was RuthlessWhen learning of the Axis countries of World War II, one of which was Japan, we must understand the nature of this country and the way they fought in this war. Japan was an extremely determined nation, even to the point of using suicide bombers to achieve these goals. As proven in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, Japan would fight until it either achieved total victory or every last one of their men were dead. When in suicide mode, there was nothing that could make Japan surrender, save be the atomic bombings that we would later witness. Had America chosen a different path to advance towards victory, they would have very likely failed. "Although some Japanese were taken prisoner, most fought until they were killed or committed suicide. In the last, desperate months of the war, this image was also applied to Japanese civilians. To the horror of American troops advancing on Saipan, they saw mothers clutching their babies hurling themselves over the cliffs rather than be taken prisoner."[1] Not only were the militants on this verge, but the citizens themselves were too. Knowing this, we must know that the only way to get Japan to surrender was to raise to their level and use stronger measures, which proved a success.Some people scold the U.S. for dropping the bombs which killed around two hundred thousand people, but don't realize that the tactics by Japan killed far more people (enough to be compared to Nazi Germany). The Japanese slaughtered 30 million Asians, including Filipinos, Cambodians, Vietnamese, Malays, Burmese, Indonesians, and Chinese[2]. These are some drastic war crimes, not to mention the torture of prisoners of war. This shows that if the Japanese had succeeded in beating America, they could have killed, tortured, and/or enslaved millions of Americans. Winning this war was absolutely essential.C2. The Alternative: Operation DownfallHad America not bombed them, but continued with Operational Downfall (conquering Japan), the outcome would have been far worse. In the following article alone there are many different studies focused on the likely result of the initiation of this operation, all of which conclude that there would be over one million Japanese and American casualties, which is far more than the 200,000 casualties from the atomic bombs that were needed to end the war. According to a study done by Secretary of War Stimson's staff by William Shockley, continuing on with Operation Downfall would have costed 1.7 - 4 million American casualties, including 400,000 - 800,000 fatalities, and five to ten million Japanese casualties[3]. If America decided not to bomb Japan out of being "nice" to them, the Allies probably would have lost the war. Even if they had won, millions of more lives would have been taken. Thus, I conclude that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a much more effective way of ending the war than Operation Downfall. My opponent may say that going with neither choice would have been better, but this is an untenable position when one considers the reality of war and the cruelty of the Axis powers that were detrimental to the Allies.R1. Cold War"You could even blame the bombings for starting the Cold War, because America showed their dominance by killing the innocent, impressing and intimidating the Russians. It was a decision that had [consequences]."This is a false accusation. The Soviets learned of the Manhattan Project from spies before the atomic bombs were ever dropped. "Despite being an ally during World War II, the Soviet Union launched an all-out espionage effort to uncover the military and defense secrets of the United States and Britain in the 1940s. Within days of Britain's highly classified decision in 1941 to begin research on building an atomic bomb, an informant in the British civil service notified the Soviets. As the top-secret plan to build the bomb, called the Manhattan Project, took shape in the United States, the Soviet spy ring got wind of it before the FBI knew of the secret program's existence."[4] It is wrong to blame the Cold War on the bombings, since Hiroshima and Nagasaki were never the cause of the war in the first place.In fact, the dropping of the bombs served as a benefit of knowledge to the U.S. which could have prevented tragic mistakes. Prior to Japan, the U.S. didn't know what would happen once the bombs went off, so having not used it they would have been more likely to use it on the Soviet Union or another communist ally, which would have led to nuclear war.In sum, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the best and most effective choice, which proved to be so when Japan immediately surrendered and Nazi Germany not long afterwards. Lives were saved and the Holocaust ended, resulting in a decision that would forever change the world. It is true that some people died, but that is the reality of war and is impossible to avoid. It is better to make decisions that reduce casualties instead of ones that don't.[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk...[2] http://www.lrb.co.uk...[3] http://www.upa.pdx.edu...[4] http://www.smithsonianmag.com...