S8 Ep255: TARGETING DECISIONS AND THE ATOMIC BOMB Colleague Evan Thomas. This segment details the "Target Committee" meetings led by General Groves, who initially selected Kyoto as the primary target

TARGETING DECISIONS AND THE ATOMIC BOMB Colleague Evan Thomas. This segment details the "Target Committee" meetings led by General Groves, who initially selected Kyoto as the primary target for the atomic bomb. Henry Stimson intervened, overruling the military to save Kyoto because of its cultural significance, fearing its destruction would brand the US as war criminals. The "Interim Committee" subsequently approved using the bomb on a "war plant surrounded by workers' homes," a vague definition attempting to balance military necessity with mass casualties. Thomas notes that a non-lethal demonstration was dismissed because officials feared a dud or Japaneseinterference would render it ineffective. NUMBER 2 1945 OKINAWA