Eric Takabayashi <etakajp@yahoo.co.jp> wrote:
> mtfester@netMAPSONscape.net wrote:

>> Eric Takabayashi <etakajp@yahoo.co.jp> wrote:
>> > Ernest Schaal wrote:

>> > 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"?

In some cases, yes.

> Is that
> because the term "collateral damage" had not been coined yet?

No, because it is war, and not an exact laboratory procedure.

>> > 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?

No, you are reading that they didn't intend to kill civilians if they
didn't even know anyone was in there.

As I said, I really have no idea what you meant by that.

>> > Kill Japanese/Okinawan civilians, ok. Criticize Japanese, good!
>>
>> More like "Deliberately target civilians, bad."

> So why the bombings of the cities?

Gosh, that's tough. How 'bout:
that's were industry and communications centers are? That's where the
Japanese military were?

>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,

I read that a long while ago.

>> 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.

Sorry, who's downplaying it?

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

The "mistake" applied to the bizarre situational you gave above.

Unless you can show deliberate killings of civilians with no intent to
take out militarily significant targets, you can continue to wait. Point
of fact, even during the war crimes' trials, no Axis member was charged
with killing civilians in a combat area, even if that area was a city.

Mike