I don&#x27;t understand the debate of the meaning of ignore vs reject.<p>The US made  ultimatum without a specific deadline.  The hawkish press spoke in behalf of the government, but without authority. The US continued its plan to  attack until surrender was communicated. No doubt powerful  in US  govt  wanted to see what the bomb could do. Dropping two a-bombs in a week wasn&#x27;t an accidental race condition against communication lines. The US leadership had two bombs and wanted to use them.