North Korean propaganda uses Oblivion soundtrack this time, shows nuke going off

@50: Yeah, I know. I just think this documentary is a nice reality check for all those people who seem to forget about the consequences of Fat Man and Little Boy.

To me that documentary shows that sometimes the end doesn’t justify the means. Some of the images and interviews were pretty grim. I remember my girlfriend had to run out of the room when we were watching this. Can’t say I blame her though, I think they were showing the burnings on ‘surviving’ children, when she ran out.

As I said, I have watched some other documentaries on the ‘fighting’ subject and when you listen to some of the Japanese soldier that one documentary interviewed, you really don’t think they would’ve been able to last another month or two. Simply because they really didn’t have enough equipment. Most Kamikaze planes fell apart mid-air.

@51 It is awful, especially the cancer.

It’s also fair to say that it wasn’t purely a military action. It was also about showing the world what the US could do, and maybe to some sick extent a science experiment. But then it was also the first and last time it was ever used.

I think Dresden was terrible as well. There were no military targets, it was just a war of annihilation at that point. Things escalate.

Fact is, the Japanese were able to move 10 divisions into Kyushu at the end of July. Possibly 300.000 troops. They were offered surrender by the allies on July 26, and refused.

If they had just a bit of sense, and taken that offer, it wouldn’t have happened.

At the end of the day, your enemy isn’t your friend. He’s not going to spare you because he’s a nice person. If you really want to be annihilated, you will be annihilated.

I think reading about how the Japanese acted in South-East Asia during the war has dulled me a bit on my sympathy for that people.

@13: I wouldn’t mean to suggest that China is pleased with North Korea conducting nuclear tests and during holidays at that, only that North Korea likely felt that its status as one of China’s allies combined with China possibly feeling threatened by the accusations of hacking (regardless of if they’re true or false) meant that North Korea felt they could get away with being more provocative. It would be following an assumption that China needs to keep its allies close. As you said, a strategic relationship.

And yeah, it would be pretty naive to think countries weren’t spying on each other. Just about all countries have and need spies so that at the very least, they can be aware of any potential threats to governments and civilians.

@47: What nuking those two cities did was persuade the Doves to bring the Hawks under control. When the threat to the future of the Emperor became credible, the real, dormant power in Japan stepped forward and clamped down on the military. (If you need more details, they are out there in spades.) As a result, the war in the Pacific truly ended, without having a generations-long war of fanaticism–you know, like people who blow themselves up to take out a target (with or without an airplane). Brutal, but effective.

“It was also about showing the world what the US could do”

I think ‘Would’ do is more precise.

“and maybe to some sick extent a science experiment.”

I think that’s a fair point, before this we didn’t have any research on the effects of radioactivity.

“But then it was also the first and last time it was ever used.”

Let’s hope so.

“He’s not going to spare you because he’s a nice person.”

He might. He might. I’m pretty sure you know about the ‘Christmas truce’ during WWI. In the end it’s whats seperates us from the beast.

“I think reading about how the Japanese acted in South-East Asia during the war has dulled me a bit on my sympathy for that people.”

Totally understandable, but then again I have to go back to the fact that the targets were civilian cities. That’s like saying “I don’t care about 9/11 because of what the US did in Vietnam.”

It’s a very toxic mindset if you ask me. It gets us nowhere and the hate will never end.

@55 The US isn’t in Vietnam right now, and I think people would look at 9-11 very differently if it happened during that period, even if they were never as brutal in Vietnam as Japan was in Asia. Some believe they killed 30 million people, that’s 30 times the bodycount of Vietnam.

In WW1 both parties were pretty evenly matched. They weren’t in the case of Japan and the US. Japan was defeated the moment they lost at Midway, everything following that only served to drive the point home.

It’s worth considering that in WW1, the Germans were never militarily defeated. They were losing, and they surrendered, deposing the Kaiser because the people starved.

The Japanese were offered a chance to do that, they refused, and as a result the allies responded by laying waste to their cities. Using the atomic bomb is cruel, but the Japanese simply weren’t rational. They wanted to commit mass suicide, right up until the point where they saw what that truly meant.