Newsletter: Opinion: No, we didn’t need to nuke Japan to end World War II

Good morning. I'm Paul Thornton, The Times' letters editor, and it is Saturday, May 28, 2016. If you're traveling this morning for the three-day weekend, good luck navigating those Transportation Security Administration security lines. Wait times for Los Angeles International Airport can be found here.

Here's a look back at the week in Opinion.

As far as presidents making history goes, this is a big deal: President Obama paid a visit to Hiroshima, Japan, on Friday, marking the first time a sitting commander in chief traveled to one of the two cities incinerated by American atomic weapons at the end of World War II. Whether that conflict would have ended without the eternally controversial decision by the U.S. to use its deadliest weapon against Japan was the subject taken up by filmmaker Oliver Stone and historian Peter Kuznick on The Times' op-ed page this week.

Their verdict: Japan was ready to surrender, bomb or no bomb, and President Truman's decision to destroy the two cities with nukes was more about showing off American power than bringing the war to a close. They write:

The atomic bombings, terrible and inhumane as they were, played little role in Japanese leaders’ calculations to quickly surrender. After all, the U.S. had firebombed more than 100 Japanese cities. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were just two more cities destroyed; whether the attack required one bomb or thousands didn’t much matter. As Gen. Torashirō Kawabe, the deputy chief of staff, later told U.S. interrogators, the depth of devastation wrought in Hiroshima and Nagasaki became known only “in a gradual manner.” But “in comparison, the Soviet entry into the war was a great shock.”

When Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki was asked on Aug. 10 why Japan needed to surrender so quickly, he explained, “the Soviet Union will take not only Manchuria, Korea, Karafuto, but also Hokkaido. This would destroy the foundation of Japan. We must end the war when we can deal with the United States.” Japanese leaders also feared the spread of Soviet-inspired communist uprisings and knew the Soviets would not look kindly upon their paramount concerns — protecting the emperor himself and preserving the emperor system.

Truman understood the stakes. He knew the Soviet invasion would end the war. He knew assuring Japan about the emperor might also lead to surrender. But he decided to use the atomic bombs anyway.

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Letter writers side with Truman. Since President Obama announced earlier this month that he would be visiting Hiroshima, for the most part readers — some of whom were in uniform in 1945 and credit the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki with preventing their deaths — have said the United States has nothing to apologize for. Readers whose letters on the topic have been published this week (here and here) echo that sentiment.

Donald Trump is a "parody of American manhood." The sexual boasting, the condescending or outright insulting treatment of women, the open discussion about the size of his penis — all this, writes Stephen Marche, is an overcompensation, and it forms the substance of Trump's campaign. L.A. Times

Hillary Clinton is in denial when it comes to her email problem. Doyle McManus notes that the State Department inspector general's report contains nothing good for the former secretary of State who now wants to be president. Rather, Clinton's spin — that the report "documents just how consistent her email practices were with those of other secretaries and senior officials at the State Department who also used personal email" — is not reflective of reality. L.A. Times

Of course you'd read this in the New York Times: Things aren't so good right now in L.A. and California. Former Los Angeles Times reporter and columnist Héctor Tobar writes of a city "gray and beaten down, an older man trying to fit into a younger body," and where voters are increasingly moving to the margins occupied by Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump supporters. Tobar writes approvingly of the "whole Manhattan vibe." New York Times

Dear Chicago: Get out. Love, Los Angeles. Joe Mathews laments the decline of local institutions run by the Windy City's elite, including the Dodgers (owned by Chicago-based Guggenheim Partners) and, yes, the Los Angeles Times. The Chicagoan in the White House has even snarled West L.A. traffic enough for lefty Angelenos to regret their votes in 2008 and 2012. Zócalo Public Square

Don't blame the TSA blue shirts for long airport waits; blame members of Congress. They're the ones who imposed the September 11 Security Fee on flying passengers in part to speed up screening at airports and then pilfered those funds to pay down the federal debt. In the meantime, a record number of Americans are flying. The Times' editorial board tells Congress to get serious about security and fully fund the TSA. L.A. Times

Feminists have an obligation to see "Ghostbusters." The franchise reboot contains an all-female cast of ghostbusters, drawing howls of protests from the nerd purists nostalgic for Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. The dust-up lays bare Hollywood's longtime sidelining of women as creators and subjects of movies, writes Andi Zeisler. L.A. Times

Write me: paul.thornton@latimes.com.