Warlords
Under scrutiny
Blood on hands
Roosevelt |
** |
The Allied bombing of Germany resulted in 300,000-600,000 civilian deaths, while that of Japan caused 330,000-500,000. The nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki – the development of which Roosevelt had ordered, although he was dead by the time they were used – killed up to 250,000 people, about half of them outright and the rest days, weeks, months and even years later. In South America, Roosevelt also set in place US support for murderous military dictatorships that continued through the latter half of the 20th century. This policy was summed up in his famous remark about the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza: 'Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch.'
