Why does the US like bombing people so much?

Question

Ok, bombing is cost effective, you don't risk your own troops and if you can dominate the skies you can do it without those on the ground being able to fight back.

But let's face it, this is overkill and leads to a large number of civilian casualties.

During the 2nd World War the only time the US got bombed was Pearl Harbour which was after all a military target and the US, although not involved in the War militarily, was helping the allied powers. Big mistake Japan - one that led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki which were cities, civilian targets, which the US nuked when they had more or less won the war anyway.

The US conducted a huge bombing campaign of Germany - bombing far more than the Germans did (and let's not forget the US was not being bombed) and the Dresden Fire Bombings resulted in the largest massacre in European History.

The US dropped more bombs on Vietnam than were dropped in the 2nd World War by both sides -and they also bombed Cambodia into the bargain (a country they weren't even at war with) creating a power vacuum into which Polpot and the Khmer Rouger serged.

I could go on.

Hamad Karzai - a puppet dictator who the US have installed - has got so fed up with US bombing he's told them to stop after 60 kids were killed in one strike.

Is bombing really the best way to go? I don't think so.

So why does the US, a country with so much respect for human rights, like bombing so much?

Answer 1

would you rather have your parents/siblings returned in a coffin or hear about a place bombed far away? we do it to defend the people of our nation

Answer 2

all i can say is shut up

okay you may think all that c**p but why do you have to go around letting everyone kmow what type of person you are

really stupid

take a grip on life please

Answer 3

You act like the countries or targets or enemies being bombed (except this Afghanistan no photo proof Taliban propaganda incident last week) are just us showing savagery. Did you forget about Japan and what they did to China before we entered the war? Ever heard of the Battle of Britian? Sucide bombers in Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan ring a bell? IEDs in the Middle East?  Maybe the the USS Cole or our embassies in Africa in 1998 that were bombed by Islamic extremists? Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996 where Airman where killed by a sucide truck boomb in their sleep? 1st WTC bombing in 1993?

I mean you act like we have the market on bombing and terror. Like the numbers game is what matters. I have the damage done by both sides of conflicts and no it's not pretty. You must remember, WE RARELY EVER START IT. Research and show both sides fairly. what is your endstate?  Know the Law of Armed Warfare.

Answer 4

We won, get over it

Answer 5

Are you really Michael Moore?

You are about as useless as **** on a boar.

Had we used less, more Americans would have died.  I know that would please you, based on your "hate America attitude' but there are a lot of happy folks who are here because their dads survived.  Just think, if your Grandpa been killed in the war, you  would not be here

Answer 6

When is the last time you saw a person demonstrating on the street because of the loss of a bomb?

Japan did drop quite a few bombs on the Filipinos, Chinese, etc. And the reason Germany stopped bombing was because of air superiority. Both countries targeted civilian populations in an attempt to demoralize them.

Nations with bombs will use them, it's not just the U.S. It's just that we have more of them.

Focus on the big picture of human nature and warfare, not just on one country.

Answer 7

Airmonkey,

Are you serious? For one thing, we've bombed far away countries because Canada and Mexico haven't attacked us for a while.

When you look at WW2, the Japanese did attack us more than just Pearl Harbor. Read "The Thousand Mile War"  by Brian Garfield. It's got some good history you apparently aren't aware of. Additionally, the Japanese flew air balloons to the west coast filled with incendiary bombs, and bombarded the west coast via submarine guns.

The manner in which the US bombed Germany and Japan was to bomb their defense industrial complexes. To deny them the ability to manufacture weaponry was to deny them the ability to fight. The same was (supposedly) what we were doing in Viet Nam.

You also need to look at who the agressors were in WW2. The idea was to defeat them expediently, with the fewest casualties possible. Invasions would cost more lives - not fewer.

The second thing you need to consider in this is that both Japan and Germany had been gearing up for WW2 for close to ten years before the US entered.

Why would we bomb Saudi Arabia? Are you serious? Since 14 men attacked the US, you suggest we go bomb a country friendly to us?

The "smart bombs" of today are highly accurate. they are radio guided and have an accuracy rate of 90%+. We also tend to use cruise missiles which are guided by GPS.

I hope you do some more research on this issue. Your question really lacks careful thought, research, scrutiny, and historical accuracy.

Addendum: The "two nukes" you refer to weren't punitive - they were to destroy military industry. Note that Tokyo, a highly populated area, wasn't 'nuked.' Both cities "nuked" built combat aircraft.

Afghanistan was bombed to wipe out Madras type terrorist training schools, and Taliban training centers.

"Ranger"

Answer 8

quote from your post"

"The US conducted a huge bombing campaign of Germany"

quote from link

"The Bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Army Air Force (USAAF) between 13 February and 15 February 1945, 12 weeks before the surrender of the Armed Forces (Wehrmacht) of n**i Germany, remains one of the most controversial Allied actions of the Second World War."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_...

In 1941 Charles Portal of the British Air Staff advocated that entire cities and towns should be bombed. Portal claimed that this would quickly bring about the collapse of civilian morale in Germany. Air Marshall Arthur Harris agreed and when he became head of RAF Bomber Command in February 1942, he introduced a policy of area bombing (known in Germany as terror bombing) where entire cities and towns were targeted.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WW...

another quote from your post

"During the 2nd World War the only time the US got bombed was Pearl Harbour which was after all a military target"

YOU ARE WRONG AGAIN!!

Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese aircraft struck at U.S. Army and Navy installations at Dutch Harbor on Amaknak Island. In the evening of June 3, 1942, Kate bombers from the carriers Junyo and Ryujo descended from a heavily overcast sky to find Dutch Harbor in the eye of the storm,

http://www.nps.gov/aleu/historyculture/r...

Neither Alaska or Hawaii were states at the time...

thanks for the links in your well thought out and accurate post:):)

airmonkey...

quote you again

"Is Holland the US?"...

Dutch Harbor is in ALASKA!

Answer 9

Maybe bc they like crashing planes into our buildings and killing thousands of innocent unsuspecting people in the process and r u saying its okay for them to kill us as long as its military? Its sad that we have to actually fight for people who do not appreciate it and aren't you a US citizen why don't you leave the country so we can drop a bomb on you!!!

Answer 10

That's nonsensical old-time reasoning.

The US has very precise bombing practices.

Where others would take out an apartment building... we would take out a living room.

***that's my point - your most recent example is 40 years ago... read the first line of my answer

Answer 11

probably because it makes them feel big, and they like to think they are the most powerful country in the world

Answer 12

We bomb because it is better to send a bomb than risk American lives. Straight and forward answer to you.  Also, when you hear h**l raining down on you, it lets people know, "Yes, if you mess with us, we will f**k your s**t up."

In response:

Iraq: Saddam essentially bluffed about WMDs, we called. The U.S. and most of the Western world came to a decision that WMDs were in Iraq.  Failure to allow inspectors access resulted in a war, and bombing is a current staple of war. Explanation granted.

Vietnam: We tried to prevent the spread of communism. Whether or not Vietnam played a role in its prevention is questionable. But, it was a war nonetheless, and so as mentioned previously, bombing was carried out. Explanation granted.

Answer 13

As I recall, I seem to remember something about Japan bombing us first, Arabs flying planes into our buildings first. And really haven't read too many complaints from the Brits, French, Europe, about the bombs we dropped on the n**i supporters.

Answer 14

Yes, because our enemies aren't bombing us and thousands of innocent civilians as well..

It's very easy for you to say these things behind your computer.  I would love to live life with that much ignorance.  Not knowing whats going on in the world.  You only base your knowledge on what you heard or what the guys at the local coffee shop told you.  Tell me, have you been to Iraq and actually spoken to the Iraqi people?  Have you heard the horror stories first hand?  Or are you just blissfully brainwashed by corporate America?

I think the answer here is quiet obvious.  Enlist in the military, serve your 4 years, then tell me whats overkill and not.