The United States should have used atomic weapons on Japan.

Refutations: 1a. While the Japanese Army was close to defeat, Operation Ketsubo would have still had massive casualties. They had about 10,000 planes, most of which were going to be kamikaze. They had 100's of midget submarines, manned torpedos, and suicide boats. They also had about 900,000 men and 3 tank brigades[1]. With over 900,000 Japanese alone, you could be sure that there would be many ore casualties than at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And it is true that we wouldn't have to conquer all of Japan, but that is because virtually every thing Japan had was going to be in Operation Ketsubo. And they didn't care about losing men, as the 10,000 or so kamikaze planes show. Rather, they were trying to inflect as many casualties as possible. From this it is obvious that there would have been massive casualties, especially since the Japanese were arming many civilians with bows and swords. To put it simply, it would be a slaughter on both sides. 1b. Who says that the Japanese wouldn't fight? The Japanese would do almost anything to defend their country. At Iwo Jima, only 212 out of 22,000 surrendered while trapped[2]. This just goes to show how dedicated the Japanese were to defending their country. Not only that, what about all of the kamikazes or suicide boats or bonzai attacks? The Japanese would not surrender or run away, and they would go with the plan. While it was not a belief that you must deadfastly follow the emperor in religion, the soldiers in the military would definitely follow the command of their emperor, especially with bushido. While it is true that some members of the Japanese did want to surrender, most did not. For example, out of the messages we intercepted from diplomats in Japan, only 3-4 suggested the possibility of peace, while 13 said that Japan would fight til the bitter end[3]. In fact, even after both bombs their was a coup by a group of Japanese soldiers to try and stop the surrender broadcast[4]. In addition, while there were Japanese diplomats who attempted to seek peace, only 1 actually had the authority to act for the Japanese government. And of the 1 that did, they also wanted to preserve the Big Six, who were primarily responsible for much of Japan's involvement in World War 2. In addition, 1 Japanese ambassador stated that Hirohito remaining in office wouldn't be that much of a step in the right direction. Not only that, there was no real consensus among the Joint Chiefs of Staff about the invasion of Japan. Yes, some believed in just waiting, but others believed in invasion, while others believed in the nuke[5]. I could not find the terms to the peace attempt mentioned in Truman's diary. However, according to Robert Maddox, the terms included the prewar empire and imperial system remaining intact[7]. Not very reasonable terms at all. 1c. First, where did you find"stern justice shall be meted out to all war criminals, including those who have visited cruelties upon our prisoners."? I looked through the text of 6 different websites and could not find that. Next, mentioning a weapon that could instantly destroy a city could seem like an empty bluff. Imagine how utterly foolish that would seem to the Japanese! A single weapon which could destroy a entire city in seconds! Not only that, points 2,3, and 13 actually threaten Japan, and 2 and 3 are especially convincing, though probably not as convincing as the Soviets. And bombing entire cities to dust was not new to the Japanese. We had been doing it for months. In fact, cities such as Toyama were 100% destroyed. The firebombing of Tokyo destroyed around 33 square miles of Tokyo[6]. As you can see, destroying a entire city was nothing new to the Japanese. Conclusion Dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the way to end the war with the fewest casualties on both sides, and Truman made the right choice. Sources [1] http://www.operationolympic.com... [2] http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk... [3] http://www.weeklystandard.com... [4] http://www.bookmice.net... [5] http://www.weeklystandard.com... (you should read the weekly standard article, as it is very illuminating) [6] http://www.bookmice.net... [7] http://hnn.us...