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From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Message-ID: <5816@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 23-Jul-85 12:15:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: utzoo.5816
Posted: Tue Jul 23 12:15:45 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 23-Jul-85 12:15:45 EDT
References: <1197@utcsri.UUCP> <5772@utzoo.UUCP> <1240@utcsri.UUCP>, <1279@utcsri.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 15

> It's been suggested, in my opinion reasonably, that dropping those bombs on
> a less heavily inhabited area, such as a smaller island, would have been
> enough to convince the Japanese to surrender.

This issue came up quite a while ago in fa.arms-d, and I wrote a lengthy
rebuttal to this viewpoint.  If enough people send me mail requesting
it (note, MAIL, not followups), I'll post it.  Two-sentence summary:

	The political situation in Japan was more complicated than
	Westerners would think, and surrender was very difficult.
	It is most unlikely that a demonstration would have been
	enough; two atom-bombed cities just barely sufficed.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry