Quote:
Originally Posted by swiss
You believe that?
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I am not sure which part of the quote you are talking about.
The Japanese did want to end the war, but on their terms. They were putting out feelers through Russia who until the last days were "neutral" with Japan.
As for having to go back and fight them again later on...that's what usually happens when you leave the job half finished.
The way to win a war is to completely destroy the other side's way of life (harsh, huh?). If you do not destroy their mindset, they rebuild and come back again. We see this time and again through history.
We have the same debate concerning the US Civil War. A general named Sherman marched across the south cutting railways and destroying. Then he turned north and did the same thing, just not as brutally. Could the south have won the war? No. Would they ever have stopped fighting had their heart not been cut out? No.
We went to war with Iraq and left their leader in power. Then we had to go back again.
We left Germany wounded and bitter after WWI, then had to go back 20 some years later.
How many wars and battles did France and England fight? Plenty because neither could destroy the other.
The US won every major military engagement in Vietnam and lost the war because the the North was never truly conquered.
Korea is brewing again because they were never defeated and their way of life was never destroyed.
It's one of the reasons no one should EVER invade Russia lol. Their people are brave and their spirit is unconquerable.
The Empire of Japan, at the time, was starved for resources. Much like the German government, they believed themselves to be superior. Their focus was on expansion. Unless those mindsets were destroyed, they would have come back eventually and caused future problems.
That's sort of the problem with playing nicely with dictators and other people with bad intent in the world: they bide their time and come back unless you destroy their way of life and show them that their mindset is untenable.
Splitter