[adolph]

I found "The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara" to be an interesting lens to understand the US leadership context at depth.

Another interesting viewpoint is taken by the below Foreign Policy article "The Dangerous Illusion of Japan’s Unconditional Surrender"

A restive public and increasingly assertive political leaders questioned if victory, defined as Japan’s unconditional surrender, could be achieved at a tolerable cost. The atomic bombs and Soviet entry into the war against Japan cut short that debate and produced swift decision where none had seemed likely. That sudden reversal of fortunes obscured for later generations the extent to which U.S. strategy had been unhinged by Japanese resistance and the splintering of unity at home. It also made the ceremony in Tokyo Bay seem inevitable and reproducible.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/13/vj-day-the-dangerous-il...