The source of the idea that Japan would have surrendered without the atomic bomb:
After the war Grew maintained that, had his advice been
followed, Japan would have surrendered without the use of
atomic bombs, and Stimson agreed in his memoirs.88 In time
the Grew-Stimson view came to be firmly accepted by some
American and Japanese historians. For example, Sherwin and
Alperovitz argue that the decision to use the bomb “delayedth e
end of war.” They contend that, because of the availability of
the bomb, Washington delayed modification of the unconditional
surrender formula.89 However, as has been noted,
Japan’s military chiefs were intransigent about the “three additional
conditions” even after the two bombs and the Soviet entry
into the war. Most likely there was no missed opportunity for
an earlier peace.
And a rebuttal to those who thought we should have warned the Japanese:
The shock of the bomb was all the greater because it came
as a “surprise attack.” Kawabe later admitted that, although “we
have long worried about the question of Soviet entry, a surprise
attack with this new [atomic] weapon was beyond our wildest
dreams.” Oki Misao, chief secretary of the House of Representatives,
wrote in his diary, “There is nothing we can do about
the appearance of the atomic bomb. That nullifies everything.
All our efforts until now have come to naught.”10
No one should ever cite Gar Alperovitz as authority, and I am glad that the article you posted included a refutation immediately after citing him. I would not trust him for directions to the nearest Waffle House. Alperovitz’ claims are a selective culling of historical resources at best. At worst, and most likely, he is a blatantly dishonest writer who fancies himself an historian who will twist, or simply create facts as necessary to fit his preconceived notion.
There is nothing in the New York Times, and nothing in our intercepts of Tokyo’s own diplomatic cables to and from its Embassy in Moscow, that indicate they are anywhere close to accepting a surrender.
God I despise Alperovitz; another Alinsky-like leftist, distorting history for their own political ends.