1. I wasn't being condescending, nor was my reply written in such a tone. I suggest that you look at your own writing and see if perhaps you see such a tone, that maybe your perception of condescension was actually based in psychological projection i.e. if you intended to talk down to me, you might expect the same kind of tone from me. I don't know if that's the case. Maybe, maybe not.

I honestly try never to do so unless I'm sending out a reply to politician or celebrity. If you still think I was being condescending, then I'm sorry. It was never meant as such.

2. When Eisenhower stated that he opposed the use of the atomic bombs, remember that by that time, he had already made up his mind that Japan had lost. A general doesn't wake up one morning and decide the enemy's beaten and unable to offer further resistance to aerial and naval attacks...and by March 9th, 1945, Japan was indeed unable to offer such resistance.

Also note that the firebombing raids were *not* against strategic targets e.g. shipyards, factories, transportation hubs. Instead, they were against the most heavily-populated centers of the cities.

Those firebombing attacks were not necessary to end the war, just as an invasion was not necessary. The Japanese were beaten. The bombing raids could have continued against true strategic targets till the cows came home, till the Japanese High Command could no longer deny to themselves that they had lost. There was no need to deliberately include the residential areas when we *knew* it would be the most vulnerable - the women, children, and elderly - who would comprise the great majority of those areas.

Lastly, 'Kushu' is probably Kyushu, the southernmost major Japanese island. I've been there on a port visit to our base at Sasebo.