[noodle]

The problem with people using the governments justification for the dropping of the bombs is that most people haven't looked at all the facts... Many American leaders of the time, did not believe at the time, or after that the bombings were necessary.

This is an extract from General Dwight Eisenhower's memoirs "The White House Years: Mandate for Change, 1953-1956". He is one of many with this view.

During his recitation of the relevant facts, I had been conscious of a feeling of depression and so I voiced to him my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of "face."

I'm no expert, and my research certainly doesn't bode Phd level, but for me, it was clear that Japan wouldn't have fought for much longer, and certainly wouldn't have lost the numbers given by the US Government since they had practically already lost the war...

I guess, my other issue in this sensitive topic is the location they used to drop these bombs. Truman said they chose Hiroshima because if was a military base/city with little civilians... this was a lie (an official report; United States Strategic Bombing Survey, said so).
Also, if the US wanted to simply demonstrate its power, why not use a small island with only military personnel? To top it all off, say I believe the justifications for Hiroshima, there is absolutely no justification acceptable to mankind for the second bomb!