Daily Show calls Truman a war criminal

[El Kabong]

All I did was answer CGM's claim that Truman was a war criminal...and that's what I figured your main point of contention was and so I tried to support my side of the argument is all.

Historians that believe Truman is a war criminal should probably look at the death tolls from the Island Hopping the Marines were doing I already posted the American casualties but the Japanese casualties were even worse: 21,703 (KIA) Iwo Jima; 31,000 (KIA) Guadalcanal; 94,000-130,000+ (KIA) Okinawa (also an estimated 42,000-150,000 civilians were killed in Okinawa too)....so have some historian tell me the 2 bombs didn't save a number of American AND Japanese lives!

CFH, I'm sorry, I don't know much about Canada, I shouldn't have tried to make that point. I do think World Super Powers look at things differently than other countries, but that's just my opinion. Sorry about that though...and you're right I never really got around to learning anything about Canada....you call your Indians "First Nations people", I had no clue...learn something new everyday.

I didn't mean for my other post to be condescending...I just meant to explain the way I look at things and why it may differ from someone else is all. But I can see that all I've done recently by trying to explain things has just stoked your anger at me....so I would appologize but I didn't intend to be condescending so I'll just welcome the chance that'll you might re-read that post in a different tone because condescending wasn't the tone I was shooting for.

Sure you can use today's information when you look at history! I never meant to imply that at all. You learn a lot of different things as you go along that you didn't pick up on before and when you apply those findings to history it may change or alter your views on the intentions of historical figures, why and how events happened and so on. All I was saying is that we can't assume historical figures knew the things we do now and we cannot judge a historical figure on modern moral values and social norms, and I think that is very relevant to the whole idea of even considering Truman as a war criminal as he did not know a lot of things about the bomb, like the fallout and how badly the survivors (or the people who lived for a little while after the bomb was dropped) would suffer, but he knew it could end the war and it could save lives and that I think should clear his name from any of this war criminal stuff because anyway you can look at it Truman saved lives.

[VictorCharlie]

b/c the above does not happen very often. Kudos for the statesmanship Lyle.

[CFH]

All I did was answer CGM's claim that Truman was a war criminal...and that's what I figured your main point of contention was and so I tried to support my side of the argument is all.

Historians that believe Truman is a war criminal should probably look at the death tolls from the Island Hopping the Marines were doing I already posted the American casualties but the Japanese casualties were even worse: 21,703 (KIA) Iwo Jima; 31,000 (KIA) Guadalcanal; 94,000-130,000+ (KIA) Okinawa (also an estimated 42,000-150,000 civilians were killed in Okinawa too)....so have some historian tell me the 2 bombs didn't save a number of American AND Japanese lives!

CFH, I'm sorry, I don't know much about Canada, I shouldn't have tried to make that point. I do think World Super Powers look at things differently than other countries, but that's just my opinion. Sorry about that though...and you're right I never really got around to learning anything about Canada....you call your Indians "First Nations people", I had no clue...learn something new everyday.

I didn't mean for my other post to be condescending...I just meant to explain the way I look at things and why it may differ from someone else is all. But I can see that all I've done recently by trying to explain things has just stoked your anger at me....so I would appologize but I didn't intend to be condescending so I'll just welcome the chance that'll you might re-read that post in a different tone because condescending wasn't the tone I was shooting for.

Sure you can use today's information when you look at history! I never meant to imply that at all. You learn a lot of different things as you go along that you didn't pick up on before and when you apply those findings to history it may change or alter your views on the intentions of historical figures, why and how events happened and so on. All I was saying is that we can't assume historical figures knew the things we do now and we cannot judge a historical figure on modern moral values and social norms, and I think that is very relevant to the whole idea of even considering Truman as a war criminal as he did not know a lot of things about the bomb, like the fallout and how badly the survivors (or the people who lived for a little while after the bomb was dropped) would suffer, but he knew it could end the war and it could save lives and that I think should clear his name from any of this war criminal stuff because anyway you can look at it Truman saved lives.

The bolded part is the only thing I can address at the moment because I am rushed, but I've never heard any historian describe Truman as a war criminal, only that the surrender of Japan was not the only reason for the dropping of the atomic bomb and that it was not necessary in the eyes of some. I didn't realize I hadn't been clear about that.

[El Kabong]

Oh OK, the war criminal stuff was what was irritating me is all. I don't doubt that the US was racing to develop the bomb before Germany and the USSR, and maybe even Japan developed it. I know that the working relationship between the US/UK and USSR disentigrated with the end of the European Theater and that the Cold War started right then and there. Maybe by using the bomb Truman was able to kill two birds with one stone, he was able to end the Pacific Theater and intimidate the Russians.

Either way it doesn't make what he did a war crime or even bad....I mean it sucks that it took that much to end the war but the ends justified the means.

[OumaFan]

Where's Kirkland?

Everytime I post in these threads I do so for about two or three pages, realize points are just being rehashed and come back a few days later to see its like 15 pages long. Lyle and Kirk and indefatigable.

[Youngblood]

Is he that famous US president that used to like to dress up in womans cloths?

[El Kabong]

Is he that famous US president that used to like to dress up in womans cloths?

...I think you are confused. J. Edgar Hoover, while around at that point in time, he was never President and never ran for President, he was the head of the FBI and served from 1935 til his death in 1972. He was famous for being the head of the FBI and also allegedly a closet queen and dressing up in women's clothes.

[Youngblood]

Is he that famous US president that used to like to dress up in womans cloths?

...I think you are confused. J. Edgar Hoover, while around at that point in time, he was never President and never ran for President, he was the head of the FBI and served from 1935 til his death in 1972. He was famous for being the head of the FBI and also allegedly a closet queen and dressing up in women's clothes.

oh ya. him