President Truman's decision to drop Atomic Bomb - Assignment Example

In the words of Walker, another option available for Truman was to try a Normandy-type amphibious landing. In this case, the estimated casualty would have been anything around a million (2008, p. 9). That is, though cruel at the first sight, Truman’s decision was not less ethical given the options available at that point of time. In the words of Wainstock (2013), the Japanese government had no respect for the lives of its own citizens and was not trying to save them. For example, though Japan faced several critical military defeats along with a crumbling industrial capacity, it exhibited a reluctance to give up the war.

In contrast, it adopted highly unethical practices like ‘Kamikaze’ attacks where suicide bombers were used to target American military (Wainstock, 2013, p. 56). From this point, it is only rational to assume that had the war continued, Japan would have used its every citizen as a human shield. Thus, the decision by Truman to end the war instantaneously and unconditionally was the right option at that point of time. Admittedly, Truman was advised that the power of the atomic bomb should be demonstrated to the government of Japan before its actual use so that they could take an informed decision.

However, a close analysis reveals that it was not possible for Truman to do so. For example, had the demonstration failed, it would have caused serious damage to America, and Japan would have continued with increased rigor and confidence (Wainstock, 2013). In addition, even if Japanese authorities had known the power of atomic bomb, they would not have ceased. Firstly, Japan was duly warned of a “total destruction” but there was no effort from Japan to stop war. Instead, it went on adopting unethical practices like ‘Kamikaze’.

However, before giving a clean chit to Truman, it is wise to assess the other side of the argument as well. Firstly, Goldberg