If there is another thread on this I apologize.

 

But am I the only one uncomfortable with his speech in Japan this past week ? Not the act of going but the actual words.

Raises hand.

If there is another thread on this I apologize. But am I the only one uncomfortable with his speech in Japan this past week ? Not the act of going but the actual words.

 

Didn't hear the speech. What did he say that caught your attention ?

Didn't hear the speech. What did he say that caught your attention ?

 

The apology for dropping the bombs as if it were a mistake. The amount of American soldiers lives saved by those bombs. To say that approaching Memorial Day. Just didn't seem well thought out.

The apology for dropping the bombs as if it were a mistake. The amount of American soldiers lives saved by those bombs. To say that approaching Memorial Day. Just didn't seem well thought out.

USA Today headline: "Sympathy for victims, but no apology as Obama makes historic Hiroshima visit"

 

Here's the link: Sympathy for victims but no apology as Obama makes historic Hiroshima visit

 

And here's a link to the full speech, word for word. Please tell us where the apology is.

 

Text of Obama's speech at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park | Deseret News

Don't see an apology. Maybe you saw something I didn't, LB.

 

We changed the world that day. A president had not been there since that day. Kind of tells you it's not our proudest moment: Necessary, but still not a proud moment.

The apology for dropping the bombs as if it were a mistake. The amount of American soldiers lives saved by those bombs. To say that approaching Memorial Day. Just didn't seem well thought out.

 

The WH said he would not apologize.

 

This from the NYT indicates he placed the blame on Japan:

 

 

People in Asian countries that were brutalized by imperial Japan had warned that a presidential apology at Hiroshima would be inappropriate. Mr. Obama not only did not apologize, he made clear that Japan, despite a highly advanced culture, was to blame for the war, which “grew out of the same base instinct for domination or conquest that had caused conflicts among the simplest tribes.”

The WH said he would not apologize.

 

This from the NYT indicates he placed the blame on Japan:

 

 

People in Asian countries that were brutalized by imperial Japan had warned that a presidential apology at Hiroshima would be inappropriate. Mr. Obama not only did not apologize, he made clear that Japan, despite a highly advanced culture, was to blame for the war, which “grew out of the same base instinct for domination or conquest that had caused conflicts among the simplest tribes.”

 

I watched and read the speech in its entirety it had some good messages . But I also think parts weren't well thought out and came off as an apology.

 

I just don't think the timing was great.

Don't see an apology. Maybe you saw something I didn't, LB.

 

We changed the world that day. A president had not been there since that day. Kind of tells you it's not our proudest moment: Necessary, but still not a proud moment.

 

We haven't been there because it was an unnecessary speech to give.

I watched and read the speech in its entirety it had some good messages . But I also think parts weren't well thought out and came off as an apology.

 

I just don't think the timing was great.

Which parts came off as an apology? Be specific. In post #5, I've linked to the transcript of every word the president said.

Which parts came off as an apology? Be specific. In post #5, I've linked to the transcript of every word the president said.

 

The paragraph discussing "shared responsibity" for starters.

 

The entire speech was unnecessary we did what we had to do to protect American lives. That was the Presidents job. No reason to open up old wounds on Memorial day weekend .

Hardly an apology.

 

IMO, a good time for a necessary bit of diplomacy with our allies. Sometimes from a position of strength you have to acknowledge your actions right or wrong can't be repeated by you or anyone.

The paragraph discussing "shared responsibity" for starters.

 

The entire speech was unnecessary we did what we had to do to protect American lives. That was the Presidents job. No reason to open up old wounds on Memorial day weekend .

 

What shared responsibility was he speaking of?

I just read it, I really didn't see an apology. An acknowledgement of the horror wrought yes, and both the US and Japan had a hand in that. They started the war with us by their attack on Pearl Harbor and we ended it. Our use of nuclear weapons was justified in the lives it saved by avoiding the mass casualties that would have occurred in a full scale invasion of Japan. There is no doubting that, however we have to understand that those lives lost are worthy of mourning. They are also worthy of thinking about in a sense that should give us pause about the escalation of conflicts in the future as the weapons that leveled those two cities pale in comparison to what we have developed since then.

 

I saw compassion there, I didn't see an apology. Also for what it is worth, anyone who has read a fraction of what I have posted on here since 2002 should know I am the furthest thing from a pacifist or a liberal, and I am not seeing him crawling and begging for forgiveness here. If someone wants to cite a passage that you think indicates such I am willing to listen.

I've said it before and it bears repeating.

 

We see and hear what we want to see and hear.