Originally Posted by sparker1
I'm sure there were alternatives that could have been tried. Whether they might have had the desired effect is open to speculation. Truman may have thought this was the most effective approach, or he may have been after some revenge. I personally don't think killing soldiers would have been enough. I think it was necessary to damage infrastructure and demonstrate beyond question the massive destructive power of the new weapon. I am not inclined to second guess the decision since it worked so well.