Quote:
Originally posted by Nic Name
The dehumanization of the enemy was meant to lead to extermination and total annihilation, as was reflected in the pronouncements of US military leaders and the media. Admiral William F. Halsey, commander of the US South Pacific Force, at a l944 press conference declared:
"The only good Jap is a Jap whose been dead six months. When we get to Tokyo ... we'll have a celebration where Tokyo was."
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Taking such propaganda literally is often a serious mistake. Remember that back then they hadn't yet uncovered the atrocities of the Nazis to show that there WERE people who actually meant such propaganda.
There was no extermination campaign against the Japanese. There was no extermination of the Japanese, either abroad or in the US -- placing them in concentration camps was bad enough, but extermination did not occur and was never considered.
As for treatment of prisoners, you really don't want to get into that. Or the names "Bataan" and "Nanking" will come up.