Leading figures in the navy and the Army Air Forces roughly agreed on one point: that an invasion of Japan was unnecessary and should be avoided. They stressed the cumulative effect of the air-sea blockade, which promised to cut off virtually all remaining maritime traffic into Japan. Without this last dribble of imported oil, raw materials, and food, the Japanese economy would seize up and its people would starve. Concurrently, the destructive intensity of the aerial bombing campaign would surge to new heights.
