Well written article Glenn. Much of our research is in sync, (mine done for my novel , The Searching.) The only issue I have is that at the time of the fire bombings in March, there were already feelers out searching for a peace negotiation. Attempts at using Russia/ USSR as a go between were actively pursued. Hirota Koki, who was unfortunately the only civilian hung in the Sugamo trials, even though he was against the war but was prime minister during the wart declaration and then quickly relieved of his post, was attempting to secure peace terms.

After the atomic bomb's enormnous finacial commitment of finance and time, the American government chose to radiate hundreds of thousands just to show they could. Hitler killed millions of jews and other persecuted peoples in a geniocidal war... to show he could.

Wars are about tragedy and hubris but they are also about finance. If you look at the declarations of the League of Nations before the war, the Allies were squeezing Japan into submission, who was at that time starving due to crop failures, but that is another story about resources and shipping tonnage.

The horrors of fire bombing, chemical poisoning and atomic radiation of civilians is a badge of glory that only America, in all the world, wears and yet it points the finger at others for war crimes while ignoring the atrocities it commits upon others whose borders are far away.

I admit the political military finances of greed are universal and not particular to any single nation.

LeMay's repeated fire runs under the weak Japanese radar in pursuit of burning tens thousands of women and children is an unaddressed war crime. It was one of his many crimes and the many committed by a governemnt run by big business.

Where has the all too familiar phrase, Weapons of Mass Destruction, gone? It was the basis of an invasion, no significant weapons found. No justification. No trials.

And the merry go round of of humanity totters.

Thanks for writing Glenn. Good stuff.