Bob Greene writes an op-ed in today's The New York Times on Paul Tibbets who piloted the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima resulting in the fiery deaths of more than 100,000 inhabitants. Tibbets recently passed away.
Greene expresses no revulsion with Tibbetts or his actions. He writes that Harry Truman met with Tibbets at the White House and asked him if he got any criticism for dropping the bomb on innocent civilians. Just tell anybody who objects that I was the one who sent you, Truman reportedly said.
Greene writes Tibbets had peace of mind:
"It was reported that he claimed never to have lost a night’s sleep after the mission, and some saw this as a show of indifference. It was the opposite. He slept well, he told me, because “we stopped the killing.” He was at peace, he said, because “I know how many people got to live full lives because of what we did.”"
Harry Truman should have been tried as a war criminal. He claimed he ordered the bomb dropped in order to shorten the war and save American lives. Nice sentiment, but you are not allowed to kill civilians intentionally, no matter how noble the ends. And Bob Greene needs to get his values in right order. Instead of lionizing the late Paul Tibbets, he should think carefully about the 100,000 Japanese civilians, men, women, children, young, old, who Harry Truman through Paul Tibbets incinerated that terrible morning in August some 63 years ago.
Monday, November 12, 2007
HARRY TRUMAN ORDERS PAUL TIBBETS TO DROP ATOMIC BOMB ON HIROSHIMA KILLING OVER 100,000
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"Roberto Antonio Eder" needs to read up on his history and take an especially hard look at the parts where the U.S. government dropped flyer's in the weeks leading up to the atomic bombings with warnings for people to flee, not just Hiroshima, but every other proposed city that could possibly be bombed. And also read up on the parts about the kempeitai (secret police) going around collecting these flyer's.
ReplyDeleteNice try, but you need to get out and read a little more.
Don't even try to compare, Harry Truman with real war criminals like "George Dubya" or "Cheney"
I think Tim hardly makes his case that Truman was not an egregious war criminal. The fact of dropping leaflets on a city such as Hiroshima cannot possibly shift the blame from the guy who gives the orders to drop the bomb and the people - innocent civilians - who are thereby incinerated. SA question for Tim: Would citizens of Salt Lake City be themselves responsible for their own demise if North Korea dropped leaflets warning everyone in SLC to evacuate before N. Korea dropped a nuclear device in the middle of the city? Personally, I don't think so. But I would like to get Tim's answer.
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