Document 2
The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender. . . .
In being the first to use it, we . . . adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children.
It is my opinion at the present time that a surrender of Japan can be arranged with terms that can be accepted by Japan and that will make fully satisfactory provisions for America's defense against future trans-Pacific aggression
-Admiral William E. Leahy, Chief of Staff for President Harry Truman, I Was There 1950
Why did Admiral Leahy feel the use of the bomb on Japan was unnecessary?
Why did Admiral Leahy feel the use of the bomb was ethically and morally incorrect?
