"The Archbishop and Teribus justify the bombing of cities because everyone living in them was The Other, German or Japanese."

Have we said something as simple as that Shaw or is that what you would have liked us to say?

The Archbishop writing in the middle of the war quite rightly said that there is no simple right and wrong of it - it cannot be reduced to that black-n-white picture you always seem to want to paint through the prism of today's attitudes. Great Britain and her allies were fighting a war of survival against one of the vilest regimes the world has ever seen - if people are going to die then let them be the enemy.

What I have said is that the specific raids being discussed were justifiable at the time and necessary in order to save lives. Perhaps just to see what might have happened they should not have gone ahead with the prospect of the war dragging on another 9 months (With no ensuing deaths?? - Can't see how myself) Japan bombed to bits, people starving and anything up to 5 to 11 million people killed. Oh and if We simply cannot say then that applies to both cases, someone, Harry Truman had to make a decision - he did and he did it to save American lives - there was a war going on, and he fully intended to win it.