Hiroshima

It was recently announced that President Obama will be visiting Hiroshima later this month. Last month, Secretary of State John Kerry became the highest ranking member of the American government. Many politicians are saying this visit should not be seen as an apology in any way to Japan for Truman's decision to drop an atomic bomb of the people of Hiroshima. Should America have to apologize for Hiroshima? The answer is overwhelmingly yes. Not only should America apologize for the bombing of Hiroshima, but the other atrocities and human rights violations it committed during World War II. The unanswered question and debate between many historians is whether or not the bombings saved more lives by ending the war. Commander in Chief Lemay believed that the bombing was unnecessary, Japan was being bombed repeatedly by fire bombs prior to the atomic bombs, resulting in the destruction of many of their supplies. Japan had been actively seeking an end to the war by Spring of 1945, but their efforts had failed prior to the use of the bombs.
Furthermore, why are these bombings not considered war crimes? The definition of war crime is the targeted killings of noncombatants/civilians, and did the bombs do just that? Even if it did shorten the war; war crimes are not excused if the perpetrator claims that it did. Our excusal of the devastating effect of the bombs is frankly disrespectful. The main issue with the bombings is Truman's insistence of "unconditional surrender". Truman refused to explore a negotiated end to the war, and his stubbornness resulted in the death of over 200,000 Japanese civilians.

Sources: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/05/10/477466610/in-historic-step-obama-to-visit-hiroshima-later-this-month
http://mwcnews.net/focus/politics/58814-hiroshima-and-nagasaki.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-kuzmarov/future-us-leader-should-n_b_9932780.html