Getting away from technicalities of calling a bomb a bomb...
First off, US ceased trading with Japan, cutting off petrol leaving Japan with only 2yrs reserve.
Japan then made that attack on Pearl Harbour, by General Yamamoto, who studied in the US and knew of its power. He developed the plan to bomb Pearl Harbour knowing they could not defeat the US.
Yes it was 'sneaky' but its not as devestating as everyone is making. It took, what 2mths to repair the ships? Another year to make many more...
The nuclear bombs dropped on Japan were not neccessary as Japan was in negotiations for a peace treaty. Only clause was that it wasn't considered 'unconditional surrender' just yet. Why 2 bombs and not just one? Made a big point with 1...or because the US were 'flexing their nuts' and scaring the world *cough* Russians into thinking they had an endless supply of Nukes. (those were the only 2 at the time)
It wasn't ONLY the US that made Japan surrender, as someone stated earlier, the Russians attacked Japan (Manchuria) exactly 3mths after the eastern front ended. Rolling its tanks into the country 'flexing their nuts' as they did have the largest land army in the world. So Japan, no where to go on land, and getting smoked by the Americans on the sea, surrendered.
by the way, 100,000people dead in the first atomic bomb that everyone is up in arms about...
50 Million people (civi and military) died in World War II.
20 Million of those people were Russian.
By the way, I really hate it when people say the americans saved the world. They joined 2yrs after the war started, and half heartedly then aswell. And why then? Because the German submarines prevented the US from trading with the Brits and was consequently losing money. Fresh troops, fresh supplies, the war would have been different if isolationists didn't have their way and the US came into the fight at the BEGINNING.