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August 05, 2023

Hiroshima "justified"? Is that the right word?

Yes, CNAS is a neocon site, but Elbridge Colby, here writing on the 70th anniversary, is right about Hiroshima but wrong on how he frames it.

First, he agrees with me, contra the Gar Alperowitzes of the world, that the bomb(s) did bring about the Japanese surrender, though he sadly does not parse the Imperial rescript, as I do, to conclusively refute these more credulous precincts of the left. (Since I wrote first, and have known this since the first time I read "Downfall," nearly a decade earlier than the 70th anniversary, as detailed here, yes, he's agreeing with me, not the other way around. That also includes my review of "Unconditional," with Marc Gallicchio agreeing with and building on Richard B. Frank.)

But, as noted, there's a "framing" issue. Per Walter Kaufmann, I don't use the word "justified" in such situations.

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