[godfry n. glad]

So.... If the actions of the enemy are reprehensible, we are absolved of our need to NOT be reprehensible?

I did not deny that the Japanese military engaged in the actions of which you speak. I spoke only of the US military's jettisoning of the standard of minimizing the civilian casualties. Not to worry, though, al, we did that long before we dropped the atomic bombs on hundreds of thousands of non-combatants in Japan. The fire-bombing of Dresden and the fire-bombing of multiple Japanese cities had already made us complicit in immoral acts of war by the time of Hiroshima. It, and Nagasaki, were just egregious lapses.

As for knowing my history, I have a master's degree that says I can teach it. And, my specialty is Asian history (along with American history). And, my second language is Japanese. And, I'm not particularly fond of the Japanese as a people. But, I still believe that both atomic bombs were unnecessary and our use of them was misguided to the extreme.