> in article 3F056B68.8ACCF778@yahoo.co.jp, Eric Takabayashi at
> > Do you remember this guy?
> >
> > http://tinyurl.com/g0su


"Ernest Schaal" <eschaal@max.hi-ho.ne.jp> wrote in message
news:BB2C1F19.4299%eschaal@max.hi-ho.ne.jp...
> Eric,
>
> Thanks for the links.
>

Hmm, I read the link, and I think he mistakes ignorance for conspiracy. At
the time there was no doubt that the US's policy was "total war," as were
the policies of the other participants in the war.

After the Soviets developed nuclear weapons, the idea of total war became
obsolete, and in retrospect people even question the effectiveness of
bombing civilians at destroying a country's will to wage war. So it was not
only evil, but a failed policy to boot. But at the time, it was the accepted
way of waging war, and if I might add, not one that the Americans invented.

Finally, in Japan's case industry was largely spread among the civilian
populations, in small mom & pop subcontracting shops, as it is today. So
destroying Japan's industrial capacity actually would have required
flattening its population centers, although I would say that the main
objective of these raids was terror.

-- 
Regards,
Ryan Ginstrom