General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: No Choice: Why Harry Truman Dropped the Atomic Bomb on Japan [View all]zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)People tend to speak of Japan as monolithic. At the time there were severe forces internal to Japan that were in conflict. Even the surrender that did occur was a struggle. There were military forces internal to Japan that attempted to block the surrender and prevent it from happening.
The statements saying that the bomb was unnecessary were correct, Japan was already defeated. However, what isn't clear is how and when Japan would acknowledge that. It isn't clear what caused the forces for surrender to become more powerful than the forces that wanted to continue to fight. It was touch and go at the end as it was.
And it is easier to believe one knows now what was true and what was not. At the time, the "fog of war" was very real. Surrender always seemed imminent to some. In the fog of war one has to deal with three problems simultaneously. 1) knowing what you know is true. 2) knowing what you think is false really is. 3) Not knowing what you think is false is really true. Now, we can sort that all out. Then, not so much.