Atomic bombs and the domino theory:

Atomic bombs and the domino theory: South Florida Sun-Sentinel: " Atomic bombs and the domino theory
Louis Krane
Boynton Beach
Posted August 23 2005
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In August 1945, I was an anxious 18-year-old sailor -- who had two brothers engaged in combat in the Philippines and Okinawa -- aboard a troop train with hundreds of other sailors en route to Shoemaker, Calif., when we were told the Japanese had surrendered. Needless to say, my buddies and I were overjoyed.
The decision to use the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is still a subject of great controversy. Prominent Americans have suggested that prior to using the bomb, President Harry Truman should have permitted the emperor of Japan to view the film of the atomic bomb test conducted in the New Mexico desert. He may have unconditionally surrendered rather than have his people annihilated.
Had he refused to surrender, we would have been justified in the use of the bomb to spare the lives of hundreds of thousands of GIs who were prepared to invade and occupy Japan. Joseph Stalin, instead of being intimidated by the bomb, placed a priority in the making of a Russian bomb, which was the start of the Cold War.
Our national leaders invented the "domino" theory, which theorized that if one key nation in a region came under the control of Communists, others would follow. The theory was used to justify American intervention in the Korean and Vietnam civil wars, which resulted in the killing and maiming of millions of innocent civilians and tens of thousands of GIs.
In the 1980s, the domino theory was used again to justify the Reagan administration's intervention in Central America and the Caribbean region. The administration supported fascist thugs who killed thousands of innocent civilians.
President Bush is cleverly using the domino theory to justify the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Because no weapons of mass destruction were found, he is now saying that Iraq is the front line in the war against terrorism.
Our national leaders have used the domino theory to squander tens of billions of tax dollars every year, perhaps even hundreds of billions, to fund the avaricious appetite of the military-industrial complex.