Aug 06 2005
Hiroshima, The Lesson
Hiroshima and Nagasaki were devastating events which the US reluctantly had to unleash to stop a world gone mad from eternal war or eternal oppression. The Germans and the Japanese (as well as the Russians until they were attacked by Hitler) were out for brutal world domination. Their common methodology of societal controls and guidance are clear in the human destruction these countries imparted off the battle field.
When the US faced the decision to end the war as soon as possible it did so to peserve as many US lives as possible, and to stop the expansion of Russia. If we could have sued for peace we would have, but all evidence pointed to the Japanese willing to die instead of surrender. When they jumped off the pacific island cliffs they sent a message to the US as to what our options were.
The nuclear bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was our offer of a cliff to jump from. It was our message back to the brutal, power hungry Japanese leadership that here was their path to suicide, if they wished to continue.
I have not completed the story (need to check out of the hotel and begin a day long process of winding my way back to the US) but this article from Der Speigel seems to be quite balanced and honest about the horror of the events, and the blood thirsty maniacs who started the war we had to end [Hat tip: RealClearPolitics]. An ending Hitler and others were just as rapidly trying to achieve for their own devices.
Here in Buenos Aries I have been subject to the BBC, and its cousin CNN International, and their lopsided presentations on the events. The world may see the US as the bombers of Hiroshima, but I think many recall that Hiroshima was our final response to Pearl Harbor.
And since these tragic events, there have been no world wars. Strange isn’t it?
More on the subject from Mark Coffey
Mac’s Mind also has a good discussion on this subject, as does Rick Moran at Right Wing Nut House
Another good post over at “Respectful Insolance (aka, Orac Knows)”. But what I really want to know is what Orac knows….
I am a resident of a Blue State, and vote like I live in one of the Red States. Republican as they come. A Vietnam War veteran. Completely behind President Bush in his administration’s efforts to root out evil in this world.
But I couldn’t disagree more with you when it comes to the atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan.
The position you stated is the one I have heard all of my life. It’s the rosy, we had no other choice, kind of mindset. The fact is that we, meaning the country I so dearly love and have defended with a gun, killed over 200,000 innocent civilians in the attacks.
No amount of rationalizing will ever overcome what we did in Japan in the name of saving lives. We now have to live with the knowledge that the United States, our United States, committed the most horrific war crime in world history.
There has to be a better way. And a good start would be for people such as you to take a cold, hard look at the facts. Perhaps then we’ll finally start heading down the road toward lasting peace.
I think you misread my intentions (or I was not clear). It was an aweful thing to have to do, but thousands were dying by the day as it was, and the Japanese had demonstrated they would not surrender willingly. It was a hard choice, but it was the best of all the choices which meant death and destruction.
I would love peace. But I am not so desparate in my desire to want it to forget people like Hitler, Stalin, Hussein and Il Jong do not have other intentions, other values.
We have had lasting peace because we, the US, had the power to destroy all comers. When will this change? I don’t know. I never expected the iron curtain to fall.
But being realistic does not mean being against peace or for war.
it funny though that they constantly bring up hiroshima and what the USA did , but not why we did it …
ajstrata , I feel the same way , I would love to have peace , but if we are attacked the only solution would be to fight back .
Gina,
I found some have had to come to the realization we had few good choices. The one BBC interviewer basically blew by why Hiroshima could be rationalized then went on to claim Nagasaki was not necessary. Of course they repeated over and over this was hindsight.
The options were thousands dead quickly and then end of the war quickly or thousands dead over months and possible escalation of the war into something else with Russia.
What would make all these reviews reasonable would be the acknowledgement that Hitler and Japan were working massive military research programs, including jet fighters and nucear weapons, with totally different intentions on their use. That would bring the picture back into focus