Published in The Record, April 20, 2016

Dear Editor:

Regarding "Kerry's visit to Hiroshima" (The Record Your Views, April 16, Bob Nesoff):

As a Libertarian defender of individual rights on all issues, I'm not a big defender of President Obama (any more than I was of George W. Bush). Democrats and Republicans both follow the establishment line on foreign policy, which is never-ending global intervention.

However, the recent visit of Secretary of State John Kerry to Hiroshima has come under fire by some, including a recent letter to the editor.

The letter writer trots out the usual neo-conservative tripe that justified U.S. military intervention over the years and that says any attempt to set the record straight means one is "apologizing for America."

World War II ended 71 years ago. Why are so many still unwilling to examine its real causes? As to the bombings with atomic weapons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I wonder if the writer is aware that Gens. Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur and Curtis LeMay all felt the bombings were unnecessary, as Japan was already beaten for all intents and purposes by 1945.

Others who condemned the atomic bombings were Pope Pius XII, Ambassador Joseph Kennedy (John F. Kennedy's father) and scientist Leo Szilard. Were all these people wrong and somehow "anti-American"?

The May-June 1997 issue of The Journal of Historical Review ran a series of articles on this subject. I would recommend that those interested in learning the truth about our foreign policy read it. I'm sure they'll find it quite enlightening.

Mark Richards,
West Milford