LH--I just don't think Truman could have or should have waited for a Russian attack on manchuria that may or may not have materialized, nor am I as convinced as you that the Japanese would then have surrendered, nor am I convinced that Truman could have known whether they would or wouldn't--so I don't think anyone's proved anything.

By the way, the Irish are speaking English, many Kazhaks are speaking Russian, and many Mongolians are speaking Chinese. What "we" would be speaking is not so easy to tell. (I'm American, and I can't imagine the US getting defeated and invaded in the 1940s, so by "we" I mean the European allies...) It's not a question of overestimating the ABILITY of a victor, so much as the WILL and the POLITICAL EFFECTIVENESS. We didn't WANT to force Japan and Germany to speak English, nor is our political system well-adapted to doing so, so of course they aren't. Hitler and Hirohito may have wanted it, and their political systems were much better adapted.