9/11... like Pearl Harbor... did not give us the right to incinerate two civilian population centers with nuclear fire. But we did...

I often wonder what would have happened, since we had already completely crushed Japan's ability to fight anywhere in the Pacific, if we had just walked away from the whole thing after Okinawa. If we had demonstrated The Bomb, and kept about ten B-29 bases within striking distance would that have sufficed?

Maybe the fighting had been so bitter that there was no longer room for anything but complete submission.

If we had demonstrated The Bomb, and kept about ten B-29 bases within striking distance would that have sufficed?

My Dad fought in Okinawa. After the Island was taken and they started building B-29 bases the training began for a mainland invasion of Japan. The losses both to our forces and the Japanese civilians would have been staggering. We would have firebombed every urban center on the island (by this time Japan was devoid of air cover.) We would have attacked every factory, power plant, railway and port facility. The Japanese army and even civilians would have fought viciously. We would, of course have prevailed anyway, but the cost in lives-civilian and military-would have far exceeded the results of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

If we had demonstrated The Bomb, and kept about ten B-29 bases within striking distance would that have sufficed?

>>9/11... like Pearl Harbor... did not give us the right to incinerate two civilian population centers with nuclear fire. But we did...<<

I think you miss the point. It was the way the Japanese were conducting themselves across the entire Pacific, and the way they were treating many millions of civilians, that was the cause of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Of course it's way more complex than that, but the Japanese had no one but themselves to blame. Pearl Harbor drew us into the war, but didn't dictate the way the rest of the war was conducted.

Likewise, the official company line is skewed, as usual, in this case. But there seems to be little doubt in my mind that ISIS must be stopped. The depth of their evil far exceeds ours, in my mind.

War is a shitty business. Perhaps you've noticed.

WASHINGTON--Legislation to keep most Americans' phone records out of government hands was defeated in the Senate on Tuesday, dooming at least for now prospects of national security reforms that supporters said would protect the privacy of law-abiding citizens.

A motion failed to get the necessary 60 votes needed to cut off debate on the bill sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), with most Republicans voting against. The final vote was 58 in favor to 42 against.

One of its most outspoken foes was incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who said stopping the National Security Agency from collecting telephone dialing records "would end one of our nation's critical capabilities to gather significant intelligence on terrorist threats."

The Hate That Dare Not Speak Its Name
(Inspired by a leitmotif on a certain News Feed)

by JLH

I heard a young girl lost her head,
Because her brother wished her dead.
She wanted to dance at her senior prom.
It was nothing at all to do with Islam.

A soldier guarding a monument died.
His existence offended the Prophet’s pride.
Infidel warriors can give him a fit,
But Islam has nothing to do with it.

Resistance is futile, says the Koran.
We will subject you, because we can.
You’ll live as a dhimmi and pay your due.
But with Islam this has nothing to do.

A follower of Freud and Mohammed both
Killed thirteen comrades, then, nothing loath,
Said: “Whenever a fellow like me just vents
It’s only some workplace violence,”

Trying to cut off his co-worker’s head
Was an un-Islamic act that led
This newly hatched convert to be shot several times,
But did not, alas, lead to Paradise.

This fine fellow took an axe
And gave some policemen forty whacks.
And when he saw what he had done,
Said: “It isn’t Islam. It’s all in fun.”

Give “Asians” an underage girl for a week,
Whether Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh,
And they’ll groom her into a prostitute.
But any connection to Islam is moot.

Kidnapped and raped and trying to survive,
Waiting for pedophile “husbands” to arrive,
All the girls taken by Boko Haram
Have absolutely nothing to do with Islam.

Female genital mutilation
Is a typical coming-of-age celebration.
Should blood loss or poisoning bring some harm
It would be inappropriate to blame Islam.

A kid likes to make his parents proud.
So one day he goes where kids are allowed
And blows up everyone there with a bomb,
But this has nothing to do with Islam.

If you are raped, you’ve committed a sin,
But killing your attacker is not a win.
You’re stoned for murder or adultery — they’ll choose,
It’s not Islam, it’s just lose-lose.

A book you write or what you say
Can get you censored or put away,
Or killed on the street without a qualm.
But of course it has nothing to do with Islam.

When all the “good” folks look away,
The “football hooligans” take up the fray.
They’re arrested because they got it right,
But blaming Islam just isn’t polite.

Beat Kurdish children with electric cables.
Kill as many infidels as you’re able,
Rape and maim in exultation.
It’s not Islam, it’s just recreation.

Hanging gays from industrial cranes
Is an exercise that is worth the pains.
No plea can save them, no friend, no mom.
They just have nothing to do with Islam.

An atrocity happened today, somewhere —
A little atrocity that wasn’t there.
Tomorrow will probably be the same.
I wish, I wish I knew its name.