Existential threats...
One thing different about the biowar attack compared to any others--the pople are going to see it as an existential threat to the nation, and perhaps beyond. The public doesn't know if there's more and deadlier bugs in the pipeline. Gas is understandable to the average person, just like a gun or bayonette. You die, you live, or you're wounded/crippled. The attack is over.
But, plagues are not like that--they spread, and keep killing. So, I can see the average person IN THAT TIME seeing this as far worse than gas. (And decisions made need to be evaluated in the contest of the time they were being made.) Back then, lots of illnesses terrified the population...I remember Mom talking about polio epidemics.
The USA is counterattacking with mustard gas--does the American population know about that yet? It will come out, so perhaps it's best that it come out as quickly as possible--perhaps with a mention that the USA will not use weapons like that unless attacked with similar weapons. We know that Germany is going to launch something--but they don't.
That could both deter others, and show the American population that things are being done. (Perhaps even announce the codename...)
The presedent might even want to promise war crimes trials now, for propaganda purposes--but that might be counterproductive. ensuring that the Japanese refuse to surrender.
Likewise, the United States would be wise to be sending word through neutral parties--like Spain or Switzerland--that it won't use gas or bacteriological warfare unless attacked in a similar manner.
Longer term--as in postwar--knowing that useing such weapons will have the most terrible of consequences might just help deter use in the postwar era. When Japan falls, I expect that the consequences on everyone involved will be fatal. (Most liklely without giving them the option of suicide, if they get captured.)
The world must know that using such weapons is NOT an option. That will, IMVHO, be onme of the factors determining the decisions made regarding Operation Carthage.
On a grimmer note yet, Japan and the USSR aren't at war--what might Stalin offer Japan in exchange for info on the various bioweapons?
One thing different about the biowar attack compared to any others--the pople are going to see it as an existential threat to the nation, and perhaps beyond. The public doesn't know if there's more and deadlier bugs in the pipeline. Gas is understandable to the average person, just like a gun or bayonette. You die, you live, or you're wounded/crippled. The attack is over.
But, plagues are not like that--they spread, and keep killing. So, I can see the average person IN THAT TIME seeing this as far worse than gas. (And decisions made need to be evaluated in the contest of the time they were being made.) Back then, lots of illnesses terrified the population...I remember Mom talking about polio epidemics.
The USA is counterattacking with mustard gas--does the American population know about that yet? It will come out, so perhaps it's best that it come out as quickly as possible--perhaps with a mention that the USA will not use weapons like that unless attacked with similar weapons. We know that Germany is going to launch something--but they don't.
That could both deter others, and show the American population that things are being done. (Perhaps even announce the codename...)
The presedent might even want to promise war crimes trials now, for propaganda purposes--but that might be counterproductive. ensuring that the Japanese refuse to surrender.
Likewise, the United States would be wise to be sending word through neutral parties--like Spain or Switzerland--that it won't use gas or bacteriological warfare unless attacked in a similar manner.
Longer term--as in postwar--knowing that useing such weapons will have the most terrible of consequences might just help deter use in the postwar era. When Japan falls, I expect that the consequences on everyone involved will be fatal. (Most liklely without giving them the option of suicide, if they get captured.)
The world must know that using such weapons is NOT an option. That will, IMVHO, be onme of the factors determining the decisions made regarding Operation Carthage.
On a grimmer note yet, Japan and the USSR aren't at war--what might Stalin offer Japan in exchange for info on the various bioweapons?