mtfester@netMAPSONscape.net wrote:

> Eric Takabayashi <etakajp@yahoo.co.jp> wrote:
> > Ernest Schaal wrote:
>
> >> You seem to conveniently forget that the Japanese military was mainly
> >> responsible for those deaths, expecting the civilians to fight the enemy and
> >> to commit suicide rather than surrender.
>
> > Right. It was the fault of the Japanese for all 100,000 deaths. No need to consider
> > American responsibility at all. Those Okinawans are a bunch of whiners.
>
> No, but sometimes you're not given clear-cut choices. In such a case,
> you're going to make mistakes, and will usually err on the side of
> protecting your own rather than the enemy.

Are the deaths and killings of Okinawan non-combatants to be called "mistakes"? Is that
because the term "collateral damage" had not been coined yet?

> >> Military were also hiding in those caves and were shooting at Gis, or did
> >> you forget that?
>
> > Always? So why did Americans need to approach or to use translators, to even find
> > out if people were within?
>
> Um, not sure what this means; if they were gassing caves without finding
> out if people were in there, then there seems little intent to hurt
> them, yes?

Am I reading you that they were gassing caves with little intent to hurt any who may
have been inside?

> >> Did you forget that resistance was particularly intense
> >> from those caves?
>
> > Whatever you say.
>
> > Kill Chinese, bad. Criticize Chinese bad.
>
> > Kill Japanese/Okinawan civilians, ok. Criticize Japanese, good!
>
> More like "Deliberately target civilians, bad."

So why the bombings of the cities? Just this month, I read the estimate of over 600,000
deaths nationwide (don't know if that included the A-bombs). Even Fukuyama was bombed,
with 80,000 "casualties" (don't know how many "deaths").

> BTW, the Japanese
> criticize the Japanese/JIA for their actions in Okinawa far more strongly
> than I've ever heard them criticize the US (or more strongly than they
> criticize Japanese actions in China.)

Yet another reason to downplay American killings of Japanese/Okinawans.

I am still waiting for some criticism of American killings, even those of just
civilians. Something a little stronger than "mistake".

--
 "I'm on top of the world right now, because everyone's going to know that I can shove
more than three burgers in my mouth!"