Obama wanted to apologize for Hiroshima, Nagasaki

It was a war......

Countries and soldiers do horrible things when there's a war.

Last time I checked - the war was over.

In fact - the US investment and reconstruction carried out in Japan ought to provide ample compensation for atrocities committed during the war.

While I wish the US had not dropped the bomb (it was a political decision -- primarily to avoid involving Russia in the allied victory in the Pacific) - I'm not entirely embarrassed by the fact, either.

The President is not going to solve any of our country's key problems by apologizing, now.

:thumbsup:

Just a thought here. Obama's groveling to foreign nations for past discretions may have it's roots in trying to project the US as the good Americans. That duty falls not on the president but on its people. What is done is done. It is a part of history and no amount of pandering today will alter it or ameliorate past pain and suffering. War indeed is not gentle, no matter what guidelines the world may wish to impose to diminish its brutality. War is waged with death of humans a foregone conclusion and with an intent to win. As with any competition the limits get tested in rules of engagements. Dropping atomic bombs is such a push to rules of engagement. If the world does not approve of that, then let them settle difference through the outcome of games. The Mayans did that but the vanquished loosing opponents afterwards by putting them to death. I'd be all for olympic-like events determining the outcome of disagreements rather than waging war. Edited to add: Putting humans to death need not be a consequence of victory.

Or you could go the Star Trek route:

The two sides wage "war" by computer and when the computer says you've suffered a loss of 300,000 people, you send 300,000 people to special machines that annihilate them. That way, you keep your infrastructure intact. It's a nice, clean way to wage war.

No fun in that.

Conservation Voice wrote: Or you could go the Star Trek route:

The two sides wage "war" by computer and when the computer says you've suffered a loss of 300,000 people, you send 300,000 people to special machines that annihilate them. That way, you keep your infrastructure intact. It's a nice, clean way to wage war.

Did you miss the epilogue of that episode Wayne, or simply the point of Kirk and company destroying the computers that generated those casualty figures.

I've probably seen every episode five or more times since I watched the original series in high school. I didn't miss it.

If you're going to wage war, that seemed like a more intelligent way to do it, to me. I'd prefer we not wage war but doing it by computer is better than wiping out whole cities.

Conservation Voice wrote: I've probably seen every episode five or more times since I watched the original series in high school. I didn't miss it.

If you're going to wage war, that seemed like a more intelligent way to do it, to me. I'd prefer we not wage war but doing it by computer is better than wiping out whole cities.

I've seen that episode, and while I understand the concept of it, sometimes a physical reminder of war is necessary to help people rationalize that sometimes... its just not worth starting one.

Destroying infrastructure is yet another reminder that the 'cost' of war is often not worth it. The whole "Live and let live" concept becomes forefront. (Not usually unfortunately but it is what it is.)



Badger

As it turns out, the report about Obama wanting to apologize for the bomb attacks isn't true.

FOX News fabricated it.... (you can hear the surprise in MY voice)

Thursday, we reported on a Fox and Friends story that contained enough whole cloth to start its own garment district. Among other things, Fox and Friends falsely reported that a WikiLeaks diplomatic cable showed that President Obama proposed a visit to Hiroshima to apologize for the WWII atomic bombing of that city, and of Nagasaki. We contacted Fox News about the inaccuracies in the story, and they promised us that they would “address” the story Friday morning.

In their initial reporting, Fox’s morning trio combined to deliver such false claims, about the leaked diplomatic cable, as:

“President Obama wanted to apologize” for Hiroshima.
The White House had a great idea. Let’s apologize for dropping that bomb on Hiroshima.
A Japanese official “stopped it.”
Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka said, “We don’t want any apology for that.”
Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka said, “We sort of need to keep the nuclear threat alive.”
Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka contacted the White House and said “Let’s not apologize for Hiroshima.”

In fact, the leaked cable didn’t say any of that.

Rather than issue a correction, though, co-host Steve Doocy said, Friday morning, that “There was never a plan for President Obama to apologize to Japan,” adding, “we should have been clearer about that, and we’re sorry for the confusion.”

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-and-frie ... aks-cable/

This is pretty typical of FOX....put a story out there....let it gain some traction, then give a half hearted apology. The story will stick in people's minds, and pretty soon all the conservatives, who think the sun rises and sets on FOX news, will believe it's true. I expect to see it pop up here in a year or so......."Obama? Yeah, he's the one who wanted to apologize to Japan"