On Sat, 1 Dec 2001, Carrol Cox wrote:
> (I forget when the fire-bombing of Tokyo occurred.)
March 9, 1945. There was a very long, excellent, and surprisingly blunt and graphic article on it in the Financial Times last year:
http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=000309015770&query=tokyo+fire+bombing
It is estimated that more people died in that raid than in Hiroshima -- estimates range between 84,000 and over 100,000. It seems clearly to have been undertaken because conventional bombing of military and economic targets on the mainland was considered a failure, costing more in men and planes than it was causing in damage. This was an alternate strategy that was continued because it was considered more effective. Le May, the general in charge, went on to firebomb 63 other urban centers before the ultimate fireball of Hiroshima.
Michael __________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com