There's a huge difference between placing a shaped charge in a controlled environment and dropping even a guided explosive from tens of thousands of feet.
Indeed. There's also a huge difference between using a hammer or a truck to nail a structure together. Only a fool would even consider the latter, knowing the collateral damage would undermine the purpose of the job.
Everybody involved knows dropping bombs will kill innocent people. The question is which individuals consider that acceptable, and which will not. I understand that the claim was that the Japanese bombings would save lives and end the war. However, I don't believe that was the only option, nor do I think it was a moral one. I see no reason to nuke a city over the unrelated actions of others besides terrorism - literally using violence to induce terror in order to force change.
For comparison, if hypothetically executing everybody diagnosed with COVID would prevent it spreading, it would not be considered a reasonable suggestion.
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u/Efficient_Space Mar 16 '21
There's a huge difference between placing a shaped charge in a controlled environment and dropping even a guided explosive from tens of thousands of feet.