Was there really a need to drop the atomic bomb on Japan to end the second World War? Most of the American people will say that yes, it was necessary. American soldiers were dying. The Japanese soldiers were fanatics, happily giving their lives for their country. The atomic bomb provided a quick and easy solution to a complex problem. The alternative was to initiate a full scale invasion of Japan, which would have cost more lives than we, as a nation, were willing to spend.

Now, however, a recent U.S. intelligence study declares just the opposite.

The study claims that the dropping of the bomb was entirely unnecessary, and that President Truman knew this. Japan was on its last legs. All it would take was a little push and Japan would capitulate. The study says that the Soviet Union’s entrance into the war would have provided that push. What the study fails to point out is that Stalin was not a too dependable character. Stalin had been promising for months to enter the war against Japan, but still had made no such declaration by August 6, the day of thefirst bomb, used against Hiroshima.

In the opinion of a soldier stationed in North Africa at the time, it was ridiculous to expect the Soviet Union to enter the fight against Japan. Stalin’s armies had suffered incredible losses fighting Germany, and those soldiers that were left were exhausted and starving. In addition, he would have to transport his forces almost halfway around the globe to be effective in the Pacific Theater. Besides, the United States was doing a terrific job by itself. Some would argue that it was the bombing of Hiroshima that caused Stalin to finally enter the war against Japan. In addition, Truman did not want to be dependent on Stalin and his armies. If he could win the war without Stalin’s help, he would.

After all, we are the United States of America. Since the time of President Theodore Roosevelt we’ve had an exaggerated sense of self-importance a…