Bomber boys - bbc one

[ATAG_Dutch]

Fine.

But was General Curtis LeMay a 'War Criminal' or was it his leaders Rooseveldt/Trueman, who sanctioned these actions? - As it was Churchill as Head of the War Cabinet, in consultation with the Air Ministry who defined the policy that Harris (as a good 'General') carried out to the best of his abilities?
It was only post Dresden that Churchill began to distance himself politically from the Area Bombing policy, in fear of his post war political reputation. So who was the 'War Criminal'? Churchill? You might as well say then that all the leaders of the victorious nations were 'war criminals'.

As (let's be honest), the only 'precision bombing' carried out by the USAAF in Europe was conducted by the lead bomber in the Group, as everyone else toggled the tit when the leader's Norden bombsight was on target and he dropped his bombs. They dropped when he did. They didn't queue up in single file. So the American daylight campaign was almost as 'indiscriminate' as was the night bombing. Or is the distinction a question of stated intent rather than actual result?

Iron free fall bombs dropped from 30,000ft in a close formation of however many B-17s is 'precision bombing'? The difference was in intent/policy and not so much in results. And before you jump on the policy argument, what was, was. In a form of warfare never attempted on this scale. We now know different, but they didn't then. Applying the label 'War Criminal' to any of the Allied leaders in the War against Nazism is just puerile.

In the war against Japan, you may have a point, because by then, they'd realised that 'precision bombing' - wasn't, and those B-29 raids were designed to take out the Japanese cities (As was the raid on Coventry in November 1940 by the way), as were the A-bombs. 'Surrender, or face total annihilation.'
And you're correct, racial prejudice was almost an unwritten policy in that case. Not an accusation that can easily be aimed at the British, as our Monarchy are steeped in Germanic heredity, as are a great deal of our genetics. It's one of the reasons Hitler didn't want war with the British, because of his racially based idiocy.

So why do we keep hearing about 'Harris the War Criminal', when Leaders and Generals of all nations were guilty of the same indifference? I'm sick and tired of repeating myself on this Harris issue, but again, the man did nothing which was not sanctioned by Churchill and the War Cabinet. The Dresden raid itself is purported to have been carried out at the request of Stalin to Churchill, Churchill to Cabinet, Cabinet to Air Ministry, Air Ministry to Harris.. It's simply that no-one has the nerve to level that accusation against one of the greatest wartime leaders the world has seen. If not The Greatest. And if they did, they'd have to level the same accusations at all of the Allied Leaders. Rooseveldt, Trueman, Churchill and yep, 'Good Old Joe'. That's 'Uncle Joe' to our transatlantic cousins.

So Harris was, and remains, simply a scapegoat. Consequently a 'Bandwagon' has been generated, which all too many people are willing to jump on, and which drags the rest of Bomber Command down with it.

So, again, was Curtis LeMay a 'War Criminal'? Did the B-29 aircrew receive a Campaign Medal?