Originally Posted by Charlatan

Justified or not... it is entirely besides the point.

Why rehash the intentions of military leaders made 60 years ago? The fact is it was a tragedy. The bombing of Dresden and Tokyo (and the fire storms that followed seem to me to be much more horrific in nature since they were committed with conventional explosives).

For me, Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain important bench marks NOT because the US did the bombing (it really doesn't matter who did it in the end) but rather because these two bombings gave us a *very* clear picture of the devestation that can be had from nukes.

If these bombings, as horrible as they were, had not taken place I think there would have been a rush for the US, Russia, or someother nation to use one... just because they could.

Sure, they did all sorts of testing and could see that the bombs they were creating were very powerful. But is the gut wrenching images of what these bombs (small by the standards of even a few years later) could do to people.

I am convinced it is one of the main things that kept the "buttons" from being pushed.

Yes. We need to remember the bombings but placing blame on either side of the equation (US or Japan) is a fruitless endeavour.

Learn from past experience and move forward.