Atomic bomb survivors want an apology from Obama.

[Soundwave]

Jon-Erich said:

Soundwave said:

There is some controversy actually on whether the US had to drop the bombs or not.

By that stage in the war, the US had Japan completely surrounded and cut off from supplies/oil/etc. Many people have said Japan would have surrendered in a couple of weeks anyway.

Some have speculated the real reason to drop nukes on Japan was to send a message to other countries like Russia that the US was the new "big dog".

There is also some evidence that Russia was planning to move on Japan, so the US decided to move first and decisively. Using nukes would deter the Russians. 

Oh yeah, the Russians had every intention in moving in on Japan. The atom bombs not only brought a quick surrender but it also sent a message to the Russians to stay away. The Emperor and his advisors also feared the Russians but the extreme right-wing element of the Japanese imperial army who were encouraging citizens to fight to the death and were also trying to take over the government while holding the Emperor hostage didn't give a shit about the Russians. But again, history was on Japan's side. What happened in Germany and Korea could have easily happened in Japan. It didn't. As I said before, out of all the terrible decisions that were made, the ussage of the atom bombs were the least terrible. If anything, they saved Japan.

If the US did drop nukes on Japan for the main purpose of showing up the Russians though ... it's hard to look at that event as anything other than a massive war crime. 

The narrative that dropping the nukes to prevent a ground war do seem to be a bit dubious considering the US had Japan at that point completely cut off and surrounded without the ability to resupply itself.