WW2History.com: Firebombing Japan

In Europe the Americans consistently said they would bomb with 'precision', yet in the Pacific theatre they destroyed whole civilian communities. Why?

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[logan0178]

Well this video is flat out wrong. The allies carpetbombed German cities and firebombed Dresden and Hamburg.

[deirup510]

This isn't true of course. The Allies firebombed Dresden and Hamburg fully knowing that they were targeting civilians. I would say the reason why firebombing was more active against Japan is that the Japanese would never surrender unless the emperor told them too, and that there was a culture clash

[Dreadnoughtize]

It is completely true to say that the Americans had a policy of using precision bombing in Europe and yet firebombed Japan. That is a historical fact. It is also true that on a few occasions - particularly towards the end of the war - the Americans bombed cities in Germany like Dresden and Berlin in support of the British. But that caused considerable disquiet in the American ranks and was never the general policy as it was in Japan.