This little snapshot story simply puts an end to whatever Chomsky was saying. We were ready to commit troops to force Japan's surrender.  It's not rocket science.  Right or wrong, a costly invasion was ready to go. 

The news from Afghanistan is hardly the first time the United States has scrapped military hardware on an industrial level. After World War II, a similar (and far more aggressive) scrapping took place. My own grandfather was in the Merchant Marine in August 1945, bound for the Philippines with a ship full of M4 Sherman tanks destined for the invasion of the Japanese home islands. When the ship learned of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the unconditional surrender, they were ordered to dump the tanks into the ocean and head home. Because it was cheaper than transporting them to the Philippines.

All that's left is Nagasaki. Probably a horrible miscalculation. Admit it if that's the case. we should have waited 24 hours.  No excuse. Too bad. Shit happens.  Human beings are pretty fucked up. Or am I missing something?  24 hours.