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August 6, 1945.

Sixty-three years ago, the bombing of Hiroshima helped bring about the end of the most destructive world in the history of the world.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks at the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at the order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman on August 6 and 9, 1945. After six months of intense firebombing of 67 other Japanese cities, the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945, followed on August 9 by the detonation of the "Fat Man" nuclear bomb over Nagasaki. These are to date the only attacks with nuclear weapons in the history of warfare.
--Wikipedia: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Japan announced its surrender six days later on August 15, 1945.

To all those who sit in comfort in 2006 and render judgment on those who lived and made decisions sixty-three years ago, a few reminders.

1- Those in 2006 do not have husbands, brothers and sons who would have faced certain death in an invasion of Japan in 1945.

2- Did not have to live through the preceding four years of nearly total war.

Those who argue in favor of the decision to drop the bombs generally assert that they caused the Japanese surrender, preventing massive casualties on both sides in the planned invasion of Japan.

Those who argue against the decision to drop the bombs characterize them as inherently immoral, war crimes or, crimes against humanity and/or state terrorism. They may also argue that they were militarily unnecessary.

Regardless, today is the 63rd anniversary of the beginning of the Atomic Age.

From that point forward, the stakes for disagreements between nations were raised immeasurably.

by Mondoreb
image: RidesAPaleHorse

Many will not know who this man is.
Many will remember only one thing about him and revile him.
Many others, old warriors, will remember him as the man that saved their lives.
He was called upon to do his duty, a terrible task.
And he did it with no regrets.
General Tibbets now joins his comrades in arms.
Farewell old friend. We are grateful for your service.


On February 25, 1937, he enlisted as a flying cadet in the Army Air Corps at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1938 and received his wings at Kelly Field, Texas. Tibbets was named commanding officer of the 340th Bomb Squadron, 97th Heavy Bomb Group flying B-17 Flying Fortresses in March, 1942. Based at RAF Polebrook, he piloted the lead bomber on the first Eighth Air Force bombing mission in Europe on August 17, 1942, and later flew combat missions in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations until returning to the U.S. to test fly B-29 Superfortresses. "By reputation", Tibbets was "the best flier in the Army Air Force". One of those who confirmed this reputation was Dwight Eisenhower, for whom Tibbets served as a personal pilot at times during the war.

In September 1944 he was selected to command the project at Wendover Army Air Field, Utah, that became the 509th Composite Group, in connection with the Manhattan Project's Project Alberta.

On August 5, 1945, Colonel Paul Tibbets formally named B-29 serial number 44-86292 Enola Gay after his mother (she was named after the heroine, Enola, of a novel her father had liked). On August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay departed Tinian Island in the Marianas with Tibbets at the controls at 2:45 a.m. for Hiroshima, Japan. The atomic bomb, codenamed Little Boy, was dropped over Hiroshima at 8:15 a.m. local time, killing about 140,000 Japanese, with many more dying later.

In 1959, he was promoted to Brigadier General. He retired from the U.S. Air Force on August 31, 1966.

--Historical info from Wikipedia.
Tribute and graphic: RidesAPaleHorse



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[photo:CNN]

Japan's Justice Minister says that a friend's friend entered Japan several times and was involved in a bombing in Bali. This story presents more questions than it answers. What was known by who and when was it known, as they say in America?

The news also helps explain the tough new immigration rules Japan has put into place. Shades of Tom Tancredo! Of course, any official implementing of tough immigration measures isn't automatically branded as "xenophobic" in Japan, a homogeneous country.

More on the revelations from CNN:

Japan's justice minister said "a friend of a friend ... is a member of al Qaeda" and had entered the country several times, using various passports, an officer of the Justice Ministry told CNN.

Justice Minister Kumio Hatoyama's comments came during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on Monday when he was explaining Japan's new, tougher immigration procedures, which will require foreigners to provide finger prints and photographs upon entering the county.

"A friend of a friend of mine is a member of al Qaeda involved in a bombing in Bali," Hatoyama said, adding the alleged member of the terrorist network had gone in and out of Japan a number of times two or three years ago.

The answer to one question was buried deep in the CNN story. The Justice Minister was admonished to choose his words wisely in the future.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said it was clear that Hatoyama did not directly know the al Qaeda member, but he urged Hatoyama before a Cabinet meeting Tuesday to be more careful in his remarks.

Japan realizes what some in the immigration debate don't: if you're going to fight terrorism at home, a good place to start would be at the borders. If you don't know if or how many al-Qaeda are in your country, it's hard to catch them when the next bomb goes off. Proponents of safer borders and better controls have been making the same point in the U.S. Japan gets it.

Open borders are an open invitation.

by Mondoreb



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