That is inaccurate. The thinking was challenged by these men, and their statements came with the benefit of hindsight. Japan was far from beaten in the Summer of 1945 and its leaders were still committed to continuing the war until they had a victory under their belts and a strong bargaining position.

It wasn't until the Soviets broke their neutrality agreement on August 7th and invaded Manchuoko that Japan lost its main chance to negotiate a peace. They were hoping Stalin would be a good broker since he would not be likely to recommend terms that would overwhelmingly favor the U.S.

The fact of the matter is, people who say that it wrong to drop the bomb are entirely correct. There was no "right" decision in this case, just a range of options that were all horrible. But none are able to suggest what would have been a possible alternative - not without the benefit of info that the U.S. did NOT have at the time.