What makes you think that this decision was I have read a bit about WWII and the pacific specifically, it has always seemed to me that the motives for any strategic action were winning the war, not killing Japanese because they are Japanese.strongly colord by racism
? I'll give you the fact that internment of the Japanese was a policy based on race and the idea that a Japanese american could be more loyal to Japan then the U.S. but as far as dropping the bomb is concerned I don't think they did it because they had an irrational racial hatred for the Japanese. The Japanese were ferocious opponents culturally able to perform acts of resistance, self sacrifice, barbarism and heroism to a degree that U.S. troops just couldn't match. The U.S. had an edge in technology, which is the only reason it won the war. Without radar, code breaking and intelligence I don't think we would have ever gotten to Japan. The last big edge to get out of the final slug fest was the bomb. While the using the bomb is obviously a crime against humanity, I can relate to not wanting to sacrifice more soldiers lives to preserve the lives of the those who started the war.
But that aside, I am not arguing that there might have been a far superior option. However, I think the first one could have been dropped on a lesser target as an example, and then some time given to respond. IMO the suggestion in this article that the first bomb might not have worked and strengthened the resolve of the Japanese is bunk. It didn't need to be announced beforehand, so an unsuccessful bomb wouldn't have that effect. But given that Hiroshima was dropped, the second one might not have been necessary, especially with the Soviets entering the war.