[Media-watch] Hiroshima

[Mark and Andrea Priestley]

Dear Richard
Your report on the Smithsonian Institute's decision to display the Hiroshima
plane was welcome in that it highlighted the selectivity of historical
reporting (i.e. the failure to report the numbers of Japanese killed).
However, the report was inaccurate in two respects:
  1.. The number of people who lost their lives was understated. The report
stated the number to be 140,000 dead, but in fact the true figure is very
much higher, due to deaths from radiation - over 230,000 at the last count.
  2.. The report stated that the bombs were dropped to prevent the war
dragging on. This is one of the most enduring myths in recent history, and
is incorrect. There is plenty of evidence to show that the American top
brass knew that Japan was ready to sue for peace, and that the bomb was a
convenient means of demonstrating US primacy to the Russians.
It would be good to see these errors corrected on a subsequent BBC bulletin.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Priestley
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Mark and Andrea Priestley
Beechwood
Ochil Road
Menstrie
FK11 7BW
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