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Okay, let’s cut to the chase, how do you know which review to believe? How can you decide whether to buy this book or not? I read the book & 36 pages of these reviews & the latter really muddies the water. I’ve been reading about WWI & II for 10 years & keep finding better, more honest books, the kind not likely to show up at Barnes & Noble for some reason. As with most things in life, one must read a lot to find the larger truth of things.
“History is manipulated” --Paul Rosenberg, Engineer, former consultant for NASA, US military. And Alperovitz details why the bomb decision & history was “adjusted” & why they kept, for instance, bumping up the casualty numbers of people supposedly saved by atom-bombing Japanese civilians. In military discussions, it was first “in the thousands”. But as the politicians realized that wouldn’t justify the vaporizing of 100,000 civilians, the “lives saved” number was pumped up to 250,000, then 500k, then a million!
“It is terribly difficult to ascertain historical truth because history is at the mercy of the writer…Worse, it is the victor who dictates the facts after a war…Those who have the wealth and the power…have the means to…rewrite history in their own image. That which history books tell us is the way things happened is not always so; truth must be sought with diligence and with respectful mistrust of the powers who insist that we believe their versions.” --Rabbi Meir Kahane, in his introduction to “The Revolt” (2nd ed.) by Menachem Begin
“There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know.” ―Harry Truman
And he ensured that the public wasn’t going to know the truth. He had some of the most skillful writers help write his memoirs & much of his diaries are off limits to all but the “anointed” historians. And who else, exactly, writes our history?
LARGER QUESTION ON WAR & THE BOMB
“The historian’s first duties are sacrilege and the mocking of false gods.” –Jules Michelet
Let’s ID the “false gods" in war history, who can we believe?
The official story on the bomb is bunk & so are the official histories of WWI & WWII themselves. Don’t take my word for it, the subject is fascinating & there’s compelling evidence if you dig. There’s the longtime adage “The victor’s write the history books” to consider & then, the first thing to happen leading up to war is deceit: "By way of deception thou shalt do war"? --motto of Israeli Mossad. Also, “The first casualty of war is truth” –Aeschylus, ancient Greek circa 455 BC. And the enemy is often not the first (or the most) to be deceived, but rather, the nation’s own people; gov’ts need cooperation so they must convince everyone the war is just and necessary.
How do we know WWI & II history is a lie & how do we know who “the liars” are?
“I spent 33 years…in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico…safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti & Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the Int’l Banking Hse of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested.” ―Brigadier General Smedley D. Butler, WAR IS A RACKET, 1935 (most decorated Marine general ever). Here is the first important book one must read to discover war in general is not what we’re told, then we move specifically to WWI, WWII & the bomb.
Surely, I’ll be smeared as “a liberal,” or “America hater,” blah, blah, blah. Wrong again. I’m conservative, Christian, lover of America, supporter of the troops & military etc. (with a footnote). Will some mental midget also accuse decorated patriot Brig. Gen. Butler of being an “America hater”? And there you have it. Or some will attack the books & facts I’ve listed here—but look into the books yourself, make up your own mind. Fact is, some popular illusions are specific to liberals, some to conservatives & some deceive both, on this topic & everything else. The purpose of this life (& this review) is to accumulate more truth & disabuse ourselves of myths & illusions.
In General Butler we identify an unmistakable truth teller. The liars then, can be identified as the ones who propagandize war as we saw in the WWI war slogans: “The war to end all wars,” & “The war to make the world safe for democracy”. In Thomas Fleming’s excellent book THE ILLUSION OF VICTORY, we discover that in WWI there were 22,000 new millionaires made (& some billionaires)! That, dear reader, is what war is really about! Gen. Butler informed us the bankers push (& fund) the wars, and in MERCHANTS OF DEATH by Engelbrecht, & Hanighen, 1934 [Another bombshell must read!] we also see “Moreover, even though the armament makers have played a prominent part in encouraging wars, rebellions and border raids, they never exerted so terrible an influence upon the promotion of warfare as did our American bankers between 1914 and 1917. Through their pressure to put the US into the War these bankers brought about results which have well nigh wrecked the contemporary world.” Foreword p viii-2 [also conservative authors]. See the deceivers? So, first the prominent bankers, then the arms industry are the ones that make colossal profits from war. It is these & their hold on media (proven in same book, MoD) that convince the doe-eyed public that war is for “liberty, justice, democracy” and “saving lives by dropping atom bombs”. And these sources put us into both WWI AND WWII. And, pertinent to this review on Alperovitz’ book on the Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb, these are the influences behind-the-throne who pushed for the use of the atomic bombs!!! (per Gen. Butler & others). Considering this, I see Alperovitz’ claims as quite reserved & not outlandish, biased or partisan. The true believers in these negative reviews are a bit too dogmatic in their beliefs, unfortunately.
WWI WAS A LIE:
Let’s burn another popular illusion--Germany was NOT the bad guy in WWI, that was an outrageous lie that no person interested in truth should ever swallow. Read THE MYTH OF A GUILTY NATION by Albert Jay Nock, 1922 (still available). And for an incredible education, read HIDDEN HISTORY: THE SECRET ORIGINS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR by Docherty & MacGregor. Then you’ll know WWI was an egregious deception. Also, Thomas Fleming’s The Illusion of Victory.
WWII WAS A LIE:
GERMANY'S WAR by John Wear [This book is another incredible eye opener, the larger truth about WWII. Hard to take, a little graphic but not excessive.]
CHURCHILL, HITLER & THE UNNECESSARY WAR by Patrick Buchanan (Former US presidential candidate). Good book on why WWII was unnecessary, but I’ve learned a great deal more & he doesn’t go far enough in proving that fact. To segue into the next books below: Buchanan notes that Hitler never wanted war with western Europe, especially Britain. It was British elites who wanted war. In WWI, Britain saw Germany as a rising star who threatened Brit’s world prestige & the Kaiser blundered by building a larger navy (a threat to British naval dominance & pride). The true cause of WWI (says prominent Brit. historian) was “nothing more than commercial rivalry”. And the cause of WWII was the gross injustices of the Versailles Treaty--against Germany. Injustice creates extremists as surely as night follows day.
HOW BRITAIN INITIATED BOTH WORLD WARS by Nick Kollerstrom
CONJURING HITLER: HOW BRITAIN AND AMERICA MADE THE THIRD REICH by Guido Preparata
UNPATRIOTIC HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR by James Heartfield
Liberals & my fellow conservative “America lovers” might reasonably ask how I can believe “America is good” and still point out these false wars & atomic bombings. Can America be “good” while doing bad things, some will say? First, as Alperovitz states, the people involved in the decision to drop the bombs were “very fine men” (there’s your balance, negative reviewers) & I agree with that, excepting a few. I think Byrnes was a villain & Truman too, unless he was duped & deceived by Byrnes et al. I believe other influences behind-the-throne played a much larger role in WWII in general & including the bomb decision. This, in my opinion, is why top-level military advisers were ignored (on the actual decision to drop the bomb), as were the scientists who attempted to send a petition to President Truman (per Alperovitz). But who? It was the same players shown above (Amer. power-elite per Gen. Butler & many others). So, America itself isn’t “bad,” it’s been co-opted by plutocrats. Again, don’t take my word for it, but do investigate it. Two articles (Study: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746 and Is America an Oligarchy?http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/is-america-an-oligarchy) discuss a study by two Princeton professors demonstrating the US is run by an oligarchy. It’s a fact. Add to that:
Jack Anderson, Washington reporter put it in 1967: “…the State Dept. has often taken its policies right out of the executive offices of the oil companies. When Big Oil can’t get what it wants in foreign countries, the State Dept. tries to get it for them. In many countries, the American Embassies function virtually as branch offices of the Oil Combine…The State Dept. can be found almost always on the side of the ‘Seven (ugly) Sisters’, as the oil giants are known…Just as the Rockefellers make sure THEY ARE RUNNING OUR PERENIALLY DISASTROUS FOREIGN POLICY, you can bet your last devalued dollar that the Rockefeller Mafia controls the national and int’l money game. The Rockefellers have made the (US) Treasury Dept. virtually a branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank.” --Gary Allen, The Rockefeller Files, pg. 159
And were the Rockefellers involved in China where Japan had invaded? Yes, they were! (See again Gen. Butler’s comment above about Standard Oil {which is Rockefeller owned} involvement in China.). So, we might reasonably deduce that WWII was more to serve the will of the “moneyed interests” than “rescuing the poor Chinese from Japan,” since in the end we seemed not to care in the least for China or Japan. And both were previously lucrative trade partners, Japan our ally in WWI, and not "subhuman insects" as our propaganda depicted the Japanese in WWII (which makes it a lot easier to drop bombs on Japanese families & the Catholic Church & Christians in Nagasaki. And no, I'm not Catholic).
“The gov’t of the Western nations, whether monarchical or republican, had passed into the invisible hands of a plutocracy, int’l in power and grasp. It was, I venture to suggest, this semi-occult power which...pushed the mass of the American people into the cauldron of World War I.” --Major General J.F.C. Fuller, prominent British military historian, 1941.
This plutocracy was long in the making but arguably occurred just before 1900, before that they were less organized in the US.
“Our Gov’t has been for the past few years under the control of heads of great allied corporations with special interests” –President Woodrow Wilson, in his book The New Freedom, pg. 25, 1913 (28th President of the US)
“Now [the United States is] just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery.” —Jimmy Carter, former president, 2015.
No one can cry “That’s all a bunch of ‘conspiracy theory’” or “false revisionist history” when our former presidents & highly decorated military men are the ones spilling the truth.
SPECIFIC REVIEW of ALPEROVITZ' BOOK:
In consideration of the above info that identifies both the existence of myths/lies that precede & accompany war, and who the deceivers are, it becomes pretty clear that the postwar is likewise littered with falsehoods & damage control to continue those “necessary illusions” of war. As one contemporary congressman said of FDR, “He lied us into war,” –it was lying (& treachery) that got us into war, carried the war along, prolonged the war & culminated in the bombs & subsequent “Hiroshima Myth” that Alperovitz describes in such great detail. And he never mentions the banks, arms industry or their men in politics who dominate in Washington & ensure the former’s interests are represented (not the people’s). I see that as somewhat of a shortcoming of the book, but being 800 pages, no doubt he felt he could add no more.
With the above alone, and my conservative background (no axe to grind against America) I can honestly say that Alperovitz’ book is a must read & is one that scrupulously details the critical (apparent) players & their testimonials. Some reviewers complained “He didn’t include the other side of the story with this info or that”. I ask you, does the lawyer for the defendant make the case for the plaintiff? Should he? Not at all. And besides, the deceivers had 50 years (at the time of Alperovitz' book) to indoctrinate us with the “victor’s version” of history, isn’t it about time to give the other side a chance? The purpose of debate is for both sides to bring their best evidence & present their case. Alperovitz made his case & used official documents & the diaries & memoirs of players themselves. Whatever book one reads, the wise truth-seeker shouldn’t attach his affections so dearly to the book that he is not open to new info down the line. It is also folly to only read books that agree with our established beliefs. We create our own blind spots by dogmatic adherence to cherished beliefs & groupthink.
Alperovitz’ book, contrary to many negative reviews here, is pretty well balanced, non-partisan & demonstrates well how virtually all the military and political leaders (except Truman & sec. of state Byrnes) were AGAINST dropping the bomb without giving the Japanese an opportunity to surrender. Many scientists in the Manhattan Project were also against it (w/o first warning), but Gen. Groves prevented their petition from ever reaching Truman (which is outrageous manipulation of the president's knowledge. What if other dept. heads were also withholding information, or lying to the president to produce a certain outcome? Happened all the time. JFK discovered the CIA was lying to him about Cuba & swore he was going to "splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces". He fired director Allen Dulles & a third of the CIA). Further, Einstein regretted the bomb decision & Oppenheimer visited Truman & lamented “I have blood on my hands”. Supreme Allied Commander of the European theater, D. Eisenhower, said “We didn’t need to drop that awful thing.” MacArthur was against dropping atomic bombs on women & children, saying it was barbaric.
From the book:
A few years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed, Admiral William D. Leahy went public with the following statement:
“It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender.
My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children.”
Admiral William F. Halsey, commander of the Third Fleet, was publicly quoted as stating “The first atomic bomb was an unnecessary experiment.… It was a mistake to ever drop it.”
There’s no way these men would have felt this way if the official story told the truth! Yes folks, buy the book, read the book. There are bombshells in the beginning, it gets a bit dry in the middle, but then, its all bombshells after that—great book. And even Alperovitz admits this isn’t the final word.
Alperovitz’ book is chock full of such bombshell statements by the highest-level military leaders. But these leaders were cut out of the decision (& so were the scientists, many of which also felt it was wrong to drop the bomb 1) without first warning Japan & 2) wrong to drop atomic bombs on civilians. Its pure Orwellian Doublespeak to say, “we saved lives by bombing people”. Logical gymnastics can make the terrible sound reasonable, but it’s deception. That’s what propaganda does. Then it comes down to “who do you believe”? Most of the military men & even political leaders were, as Alperovitz said, “very fine men,” but they did not make the final decision. History says the decision was made by two men, Truman & Byrnes, but it is inescapable that powerful influences behind the scenes were involved, & they have been completely airbrushed out of history along with the truth. I work with many former military men & have a high regard for the troops & American military tradition in general. Some are quite open to this info & a few just refuse to believe it. Its understandable, as a career military man is vested (in my opinion) in all that is good & meaningful in America & that American military tradition, just like Brig. Gen. Butler was. But we all must eventually square with the truth.
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Morley Evans
