Part 4/10:
Furthermore, the U.S. had strategic reasons for deploying the bombs. American leaders hoped to end the war swiftly, sparing countless lives that would otherwise be lost in a prolonged invasion. The fierce fighting, exemplified by kamikaze attacks and the staunch resistance of Japanese forces, threatened to prolong the conflict indefinitely. Dropping the bombs was viewed as a tragic but necessary measure to halt the bloodshed, potentially saving hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians and Allied prisoners of war—an uncomfortable but critical element of the historical debate.