Atomic Bomb
August 6th, 1945, 70,000 lives were ended
in a matter of seconds.The United States had dropped an atomic bomb on the city
of Hiroshima.
Today many argue over whether or not the US should have
taken such a drastic
measure. Was
it entirely necessary that we
drop such a devastating weapon?Yes, it was. First, look at what was going on at
the time the decision
was made. The
U.S had been fighting a
massive war since 1941.Morale was most likely low, and resources were probably
at the same level
as morale. However, each side continued to fight, and both
were determined to
win. Obviously,
the best thing that could
have possibly have happened would have been to bring
the war to a quick end,
with a minimum of casualties. What would have happened
had the A-bomb not
been used? The most obvious thing is that the war would
have
continued. U.S
forces; therefore, would have had to invade
the home island of Japan.Imagine the number of casualties that could have
occurred if this would
have happened Also,
our forces would not
only have to fight off the Japanese military, but they
would have to defend
themselves against the civilians of Japan as well.It was also a fact that the
Japanese government had been equipping the
commoners with any kind of weapon
they could get their hands on. It is true that
this could mean a Japanese
citizen could have anything from a gun to a spear,
but many unsuspecting
soldiers might have fallen victim to a surprise
spear
attack! The
number of deaths that would have occurred
would have been much greater, and an
invasion would have taken a much longer
period of time.The Japanese would have continued to fight the US with all of
what they
had; spears, guns, knives, whatever they could get their hands on,
just as long
as they continued to fight the enemy. As
mentioned before, it
is a fact that some civilians had been ready to fight our
military with
spears!What made it possible that the Japanese would resort to using spears?
Why
wouldn't they use guns or other weapons?Well, the truth was, the
government just didn't have the resources to
give out a gun to just any
citizen.US naval blockades are one of the major reasons that Japan was so low
on
resources, and a main point opponents of the decision to drop the
bomb
constantly bring up. Japan obviously was very low on resources. Japanese
civilians were ready to die with spears in their hands, surely
the military
would do the same.Besides, the Japanese military did still have some resources
to go on.So again I must bring out the fact that Japan could have continued
to
fight, and they would have.And I'm sure anyone can realize what would
happen if the war continued;
more deaths. Admiral
William
Leahy, Chief of Staff to President Roosevelt andPresident Truman, wrote, "By the
beginning of September 1944, Japan
was almost completely defeated through a
practically complete sea and air
blockade." If
that was true,
how could they have continued to fight and rack up enemy kills?If the Chief of
Staff to the President figured they would soon surrender
around September
1944; why were they still fighting almost a year later?And how can we be so sure
that any other estimates on when the war would
end would be correct?
Basically, we can't.For all anyone knows, Japan would have kept fighting.It was
the atomic bomb that forced Japan to surrender and in turn saved
thousands if
not millions of lives.
How can anyone be so sure that Japan would
continue to fight? No one can
say exactly what would have happened, because
let's face it, no one really
knows. It's
possible Japan was
just about to surrender, but most evidence would not agree
with that
statement.I'm sure most have heard of a group of men called the Kamikaze.
Kamikaze
were "suicide" pilots.They would load an airplane up with explosives
and try to nose-dive it
into an enemy target.Think about what must be on this
pilot's mind. Imagine the undying love
he must have for his country.He would
fight until the end, for his emperor and his country.The scary thing about this
is the majority of the Japanese military
thought this way. The fact that the
enemy is ready to die so long as you die
with him is not something a soldier
wants to think about before going into
battle. Once
more I must
bring into the picture the fact that a longer war means more deaths,
and it
appears that a longer war is exactly what Japan had in mind. Most
opponents
of the bomb say the it was immoral to drop the bomb on such targets
as
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but you cannot deny the fact the major
manufacturing of
wartime products was being conducted here.Now, I'm going to
be honest, I don't believe that Hiroshima and Nagasaki
were the best places
to bomb, due to the high civilian numbers; however, it is
still my belief
that the Atomic Bomb was necessary to end the war. Also,
leaflets and
warnings had been issued to the people of those cities warning them
of an
attack. Some
say that the United States should have warned what
kind of attack it would have
been. This
however seems
ridiculous to me.It shouldn't matter what kind of warning is given, a threat
under such
conditions should be taken seriously, and the citizens should have
evacuated.
One might also point out the fact, however brutal this may
seem, that ever since
Sherman's March to the Sea of the American Civil
War, which was a turning point
in modern warfare, civilian population centers
are also considered fair game to
the military. The moral issue of dropping an
atomic bomb is very controversial.Especially since radiation is a major side
effect of such a weapon.On the other hand though, fire-bombings of other
Japanese cities had left
other civilians equally scarred.If one wanted to
argue the issue of radiation as a side effect of atomic
bombing, they would
have to find a way to argue the side effects of
bombing
altogether. Is
it immoral to use a bomb?No; it's not
very nice, but it's not immoral.These are the kinds of things that happen in
war, however unfortunate
they are. Despite other arguments, the Atomic Bomb
was a necessity.Without it, the number of men that would have died on both sides
far
surpasses that of the number that were killed in the droppings of both
Atomic
Bombs. Let's
face it, the goal of waging war is
victory with minimum losses on one's own
side, and if possible a minimum
amount of losses on the enemy's side.The Atomic Bomb cut losses to a minimum and
drew war to an end quickly.