Was Truman the man in the arena? Did he take any actions? My understanding is that he was a scapegoat, both about the bombs and about his presidency in general. The buck stops here for responsibility, but not decisions. He didn’t make the decision to bomb the city of Hiroshima, but specifically wrote that he chose it because there were no civilians. He didn’t weigh the options and decide that it was worth the cost, but rewrote history to pretend that he did. No, he shouldn’t wring his hands about his lying subordinates, but he should do something about them. I hold him responsible for complicity in this charade.
Was Truman the man in the arena? Did he take any actions? My understanding is that he was a scapegoat, both about the bombs and about his presidency in general. The buck stops here for responsibility, but not decisions. He didn’t make the decision to bomb the city of Hiroshima, but specifically wrote that he chose it because there were no civilians. He didn’t weigh the options and decide that it was worth the cost, but rewrote history to pretend that he did. No, he shouldn’t wring his hands about his lying subordinates, but he should do something about them. I hold him responsible for complicity in this charade.