People were poor targets for bombs because they had, contrary to Douhet and Mitchell, stoic staying power. They could also be evacuated from cities or find protection in public bomb shelters, whereas industries were fragile, immobile, and virtually indefensible.2 This was warfare suited to the American character. “[It] combined moral scruples, historical optimism, and technological pioneering, all three distinctly American characteristics,” wrote historian John Keegan.
