So the remaining reasons appear to be to test our anti-sat weapons, demonstrate them to the world, and/or prevent the recovery of large chunks of this super-secret sat from being recovered by anyone other than us.

[...] being developed to defend satellites, low Earth orbit satellites are being quickly and accurately shot down by the US and China, plus satellite technology is becoming more and more valuable as a strategic target. Like [...]

[...] US Cruiser Strikes Dead Spy Satellite [...]

Japan stopped fighting, finally, because Emperor Hirohito, as he stated in his surrender address could no longer countenance the suffering that his people were experiencing.

This does not alter the fact that Army HQ officers attempted a coup with the hope of keeping the war going. Fortunately, some people were more loyal to Hirohito than to Bushido.

There is book entitled "Flyboys", alas, I cannot recall the author, but I believe that he also wrote "Flags of Our Fathers", but I am not fully confident there. It is a fantastic insight into the Japanese mind-set during the Pacific War. I highly recommend that before one finds fault with these bombings, one read this book. Readings in bushido- by Japanese authors-would also be helpful in understanding why Operation Olympic would NOT have been preferable to 2 mushroom clouds and that the Japanese were not going to surrender.

To study history as it is recorded is, especially from the perspective of the "Other Guys" is much more preferable to reliance on theory.

Launching an arms race? What, the Soviets were a peacful minded lot aforehand? You might wish to inquire about that to the Finns. A very strong argument can be made that the Bomb actually saved lives beyond the MILLIONS saved due to Hiroshima and Nagasaki (remember, the Japanese concur in this assessment).

One should hope that you are aware that GEN Douglas MacArthur had hoped to make use of nuclear weapons during the Korean War. Thank God President Truman understood the leadership maxim of "When in charge, take charge", and finally fired MacArthur before things got out of hand. The spectre of the Bomb, in Truman's own writings, was a major factor in his decision. Truman wrote of the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki haunting him, and not wanting to visit that upon Korean and Chinese cities, especially considering that nuclear weapons technology had progressed markedly in 5+ years time (see: "Hydrogen bomd").

BTW: So-called conventional "fire-bombing" raids on many other Japanese cities, and several German ones, caused far more destruction and death than the A-bomb cities combined, but I guess that's okay for the purpose of this debate.

The Spectre of the Bomb effect also undoubtedly kept the Soviet Union out of Western Europe. Many people like to paint the US as an aggressor nation during this period, but, factually (sorry), we actually invaded very few countries with the result of claiming those previously sovereign states as our own. A quick look-see of the period 1945-1991 would show that the US invested no countries with the intent of adding either a new territory or state.

No, North Vietnam was actively supporting an insurretion in South Vietnam, we sought to stop it. When we were successful in that endevour, Nort Vietnam actually invaded the sovereign state of South Vietnam.

No, North Korea invaded South Vietnam. We removed the North Koreans from the Republic of Korea, and, perhaps, went too far north. China invaded pushing UN troops back south. We came back, stabilizing the border (more or less). A state of war technically still exists. In either event, the US goal there was not an imperialist one.

Yet, over in Europe, Poland, Hungary, Czecholslovkia, etc., etc., etc. And just a bit farther south, The SU's last imperialist (what else to call it- they grabbed land in order to make it their own) action- Afghanistan.

What kept these events from getting larger? The bomb.

BTW: Japan had a Bomb program, too. Fortunately, they, too, followed the German heavy water model, and were even farther behind the Germans in this regard.

The Spectre of the Bomb (there is a fascinatingly ironic acronym there, yes?) also kept us out of Cuba after Castro went red. Little known but Castro had some tacit support within the Eisenhower adminstration at first. We liked the Cuban people. But then, Castro announced himself a communist and the US lost a LOT of money. No surprise that a LOT of people close to Ike wanted us to go take Cuba back, maybe even re-install Batitista as El Presidente. But like Truman, Ike was concerned about the Bomb, this time Bombs addressed "From Russia with Love." And he wasn't going to do it over Cuba.

History: it's fantastic.

I'm guessing that as soon as China killed one of there own satelites that was the justification we were waiting on to try one of our own. The political dilema back in the 50's was how the Soviets and the world would react to the over flight of their airspace with satelites. As soon as Russia did it – it was OK for us to do it.

In todays political climate we wouldn't want to be the first one blowing stuff up in space for any reason.

I just hope that this new "space race" concentrates more on the really important stuff like ID / tracking prolification of Nukes coming from that irritating little spot on the globe called "___________"

So, Skip Ryan, Why did they stop fighting? Why would the two "atomic" bombs stop them?

But that's not my point. My point is (whether justified) we are the only country that has proved we will use a nuclear weapon. We started an arms race that has cost trillions and made the world less safe. I will agree there are many others in the world who are far more evil. We have helped them, both in nuclear materials to steal and example, to kill millions more than the WWII Japanese.

We had to build the bomb–I agree. Our mistake was using it for a reason it wasn't meant. Do you think we should nuke Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Iran?

Practically every military in the world talks about "death before dishonor" and fighting to the last man and last bullet (France excepted), but Imperial Japan not only practiced it, they expanded "last man/last bullet" to "last man, woman and child, and last bullet, rock and pointed stick." This is not hyperbole. The battles for Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa make this quite clear. Be advised that in Saipan, civililans committed suicide by the tens of thousands-whole families- rather than face American forces.

Incidently, those who hesitated to jump from the cliffs were killed by Japanese snipers. There is a LOT of newsreel footage attesting to this.

Did you know that the Japanese ordered civilians, children-male and female- mostly, to meet the invading US forces first? The thought was that after we had exhausted ourselves physically and mentally, then they'd send in the troops. Did you know that they boys and girls ordered to their deaths here were to be armed with spears? Of course you didn't.

Were you aware that the Japanese Ministry of Defense estimated that had Operation OLYMPIC (the US invasion of Japan) had been executed, that Japan would have suffered, conservatively, 3-5 MILLION casualties?

And that's just from battle. How many more Japanese CIVILIANS would have died from continued bombing raids elsewhere (OLYMPIC was to take place in the southern islands of Honshu and Kyushu), starvation and disease is inestimable. Let's go with lots more.

Then there's mainland Asia. The Japanese were still a viable force there with over 3.5 million soldiers in China alone. No doubt that after we had invaded Japan, those troops would have quit fighting the Chinese (atrocities in China are said to make anything that the Nazis did seem kind by comparison) sat down and watched the show from afar, right?

Moreover, after, I say again, AFTER, Hirohito had recorded his surrender message to the Allies (one would have thought that after the Hiroshoma bombing he would have done it then, but no, we had to nuke Nagasaki, too), officers of the Imperial Japanese Army, sworn to obey the Emperor unto death, staged a coup in order to overthrow said "Living God" (in who's name they had been sending millions of their countrymen to death since 1935), with the hope of continuing the Pacific War.

What we did with Hiroshima and Nagasaki was save a several million lives of our enemy, let alone a few million lives of our own and our Allies. How dare we.

What is so great about hitting a satellite moving in the same general direction as the missile? We've been doing that for years with our spacecraft dockings. We do things far more amazing–sending landers to other planets and moons, etc.

Yes, I favor America over the rest of the world but for different reasons from flexing our military muscles.

Besides, with the nuclear proliferation being all the rage these days, I submit that it was good for Pyongyang and Teheran to observe that their few missiles and atomic ambitions suddenly aren't as spooky as they were a week ago.

The Chinese should go clean up their mess. Go Navy!

Second, it was our toy and it was broken, so we can shoot it down (or blow it into tiny bits) if we want to.

Third, I'm glad we have acquired this level of technology. I'll change my tune if we use it for unprovoked aggression. However, as means to protect us from overhead threats: RIGHT ON!

[...] with Robert Gates "pulling the trigger," it wasn't about the tank of hydrazine, a health hazard only if it hit the ground intact. There's no way a fuel tank built for Earth [...]

Great idea!