Show Truman And The Bomb Former President Harry Truman Truman Tru man recently explained on a television program that he made the decision to drop th the atomic bomb on Japan in world war II to save many American Ameri Amerl can lives he would do dothe dothe dothe the same again under the same circumstances THERE HAVE been many second guessers after t the h e event August 1945 and there has been much nonsense in th the press especially the Euro European ean and Asian press about this momentous momentous mo mo- mo decision Those who study the facts or who remember the circum circumstances stances with a degree of reality real ity have never questioned the decision The President could have done nothing else No one likes to kill tens of f thousands thousand of people even a hundred thousand or more HOWEVER a wartime leader lead lead- er of any country will inevitably inevitably tably choose to kill the enemy in a war rather than see his own countrymen killed and Mr Truman's decision was just that simple simpie In fact the proof that it was necessary to take some drastic action to force J Japanese diehards die die- hards to agree to an end of the war lies in the t fact that two bombs not one one had to be dropped before the war leaders in Japan admitted the hopelessness hopelessness hopelessness hope hope- of the situation OTHERWISE an American invasion of Japan would have been necessary to defeat the Japanese and if not that many any anymore more months of fighting It was an agonizing decision to have to make but it probably saved lives It certainly saved laved American lives and it was the only decision Mr Truman could have made |