Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945
Was bombing the right thing?
The
bombing case that was authorized by the then United States president Harry
Truman has been met with many criticisms from all corners of the world .Some
people feel that he was justified to bomb Nagasaki and Hiroshima whereas others
feel that he would have used other means to suppress Japan. Those supporting
the bombings argue that it was necessary since Japan had planned to attack the
Pearl Harbor in the U.S and this would have caused massive deaths on their
soils. The bombings brought such plans to an end though.
Those
against the bombings argue that Japan had no powers to wage any war against the
United States and that the bombings were not necessary a t all (Bodden, 2007).
The bombings are also claimed to have been pointless because earlier on the
Japanese had asked for support so that they could come to peaceful terms with
their allies. The bombings were also deemed as a pure injustice to humanity.
The bombings claimed many innocent lives among them children, women and the
aged. The bombings were also a very tragic measure to undertake since it left
very bad psychological memories to the
people of Japan and very fatal atomic effects which are evident to date.
Reasons
for the bombings
The
bombing against Japan were due to various reasons and among them was so as to
shorten the war .The bombings though tragic, brought an end to the Second World
War which was bound to continue fueling. Truman staunchly defends the war
saying that it was one of the best ways to combat the war between the allied
forces and the soviet countries.
The
other reason that led to the bombings was that of revenge (Dionisi, 2005). Truman
said that this was a very good method of demonstrating their revenge to the
Japanese for their c continued war waging and threats. It is a very crude way
though of carrying out revenge on an enemy since it was very tragic.
The
other reason for the bombings was that of saving Americans lives which were at
a greater threat. The Japanese had unwarily attacked the Pearl Harbor posing a
lot of danger to the navies defending the place and even claiming lives at
then. The United States thus felt that they had the obligation of ensuring
their people felt safe at their own soils.
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Other
choices apart from bombings
Truman
would have waited for the Russians to stage their revenge on the Japanese and
see how it would have being (Bodden, 2007). The attack by both the Russians and
the Americans would though have had more effects than the bombings carried out.
Truman
would have negotiated peace terms with the Japanese instead of bombing them.
Peace terms might have brought some agreement between the warring parties and
even helped the Japanese to prepare themselves against the attacks.
The
Japanese had refused to surrender in fear that they would lose their emperor
who they regarded as their one and only divine leader (Offner, 2002). If at all
Truman had told them that he had nothing to do with their emperor, they would
have probably surrendered and the using of the bomb would not have been there
at all.
References
Offner
A. Arnold, (2002). Another Such Victory:
President Truman and the Cold War, 1945-1953. Stanford University Press
Dionisi
J. David, (2005). American Hiroshima: The
Reasons Why And A Call To Strengthen America's Democracy. Trafford Publishing
Bodden
Valerie, (2007). The Bombing of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki. The Creative Company
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