Don't lump everyone together, though, Wolfgang. I am a "Mudcat left" who has not contributed much to this thread because I saw it as a bit pointless. People are claiming all sorts of things for which there is little firm evidence, etc.

But for the record I definitely lean toward the camp that says, "the bomb was horrible, but necessary at that time." Nothing the other leftists have said here convinces me that this is a "party line from the past," etc, etc. Truman did what he thought he had to do to save lives and stabilize the world. Looking at Japan's progress since WWII, I think he largely succeeded. I would prefer if he had done it without the bomb, but I am not convinced he could have.