Quote:
Originally Posted by Timmy
And now you're a step ahead of me! Congratulations! 
Actually, where I was originally going with this was WWII. Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Tokyo (fire bombings). No denying there was targeting of civilians. I know all the arguments: it was done to end the war, many more would have died, yada yada. Well? So? Was there really no other way? Really? |
Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War there was a great deal of writing and discusion in international conferences about the future potential "targeting cities" in a time of war. The Nazis had successfully pioneered that tactic in the Spanish Civil War.
The word "terrorism" was already in common usage long before the Second World War. The "terrorist" in those terms was simply a "soldier" fighting without a uniform nor insignia in violation of the Geneva Accords.
Thus, prior to WW2 we already had a definition for a "terrorist" that was defined by international agreement. And, we had the "targeting of cities" (the term used then) as a military tactic. Given the imprecision of bombs in those days civilian casualties were understood unless precautions were made by the local authorities, such as mass evacuations and the construction of bomb shelters.
Harry Truman does not fit the category of a "terrorist" for Hiroshima and Nagasaki because leaflets and radio broadcasts were sent out before hand warning that the cities were to be destroyed. The Japanese authorities refused to order or to even allow an evacuation because they felt that this would be a sign of weakness and cause them to loose their control of the nation.
There was simply no way for the American commanders to know if their warnings had been heeded. And, despite two nuclear detonations the Japanese military still was defiant and refused to surrended and even attempted a coup against the Emperor himself in order to prevent him from surrendering. So, yeah... "I guess there was no other way."
And yes, I would "deny that they were 'targeting civilians.'" They were targeting the cities and the means of manufacture and transportation within a nation. "Targeting" civilians means that you have the civilians in your bullseye. You don't drop leaflets warning of an attack if you want your "target" to remain in your bullseye.
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