U.S. propaganda

I must raise some concerns over your editorial of Dec. 3 that “A-bombs need no apologies.” While I do not wish to argue for such an apology, I do want to raise issue with some of the premises used.

For years we have been told that the dropping of the bombs was to save many, many lives. Through the release of wartime information in the last 10 years or so, that idea needs to be reexamined.

There is evidence that the Japanese were attempting to bring the war to an end at the time of the bombing. President Truman was stalling. Why?

Members of his advisory council and military leaders such as Eisenhower, Leahy and Marshall were advising against the bombing. There is evidence that the war could have been brought to an end soon without resorting to such massive destruction.

Then why were the bombs dropped? In particular, why was it necessary to drop both bombs? It appears to be connected to the Russian movement into Manchuria. As that offensive gained momentum, Truman moved up the bomb drop.

The Nagasaki bomb drop immediately followed the Russian invasion. Coincidence? I believe scholarship and the American people as a whole need to reflect on the current information we have.

The suggested factors listed in your editorial read like the propaganda generated by our government at the time to justify the president’s action. At that time, the American people did not have the information that is now available. But the memos and other data are available that question what was fed to the public then.

It is time for The Northern Star and others to consider such data and not simply continue to give voice to the propaganda of the past. As we approach the 50th anniversary of the bombings in 1995, let us reevaluate these actions of warfare.

Dave Schmidt

United Campus Ministries