UM-Bot Posted July 23, 2005 #1 Share Posted July 23, 2005 The US decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 was meant to kick-start the Cold War rather than end the Second World War, according to two nuclear historians who say they have new evidence backing the controversial theory. Causing a fission reaction in several kilograms of uranium and plutonium and killing over 200,000 people 60 years ago was done more to impress the Soviet Union than to cow Japan, they say. View: Full Article | Source: New Scientist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhomphaia Posted July 23, 2005 #2 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Give me a break... War crimes? Crimes against humanity? Taking that context, then he should have been guilty of that for the god only knows how many thousands of tons of bombs he dropped on German cities. And if you want to put the deaths of men women and children in context, look at Japan's policy at the time. They were pressing women and children into service to defend their nation against attack. I am not talking like how Germany did with the Hitler Youth, I am talking like little kids, under ten, being forced to fight American soldiers. War crimes and crimes against humanity my ass... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Ed Posted July 23, 2005 #3 Share Posted July 23, 2005 I think not. Cold War just cost money, no one won. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Pancake Posted July 23, 2005 #4 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Also how could Truman anticipate the cold war in the first place? And how dropping an atomic bomb was an advantage it probably was a disadvantage because now everybody saw its power, so everybody wants one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Strangelove Posted July 23, 2005 #5 Share Posted July 23, 2005 I am always amazed that they continue this debate why and if we should have used the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It did look like the Imperial Japanese Army might have it's way and we would be have to invade the home islands to bring about a final defeat. It also looked like the Japanese might try to use their own 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'. Their efforts at biological warfare with Unit 731 should not be discounted. We needed to end the war as quickly as possible. If we had invaded the islands a lot more Japanese civilians would have been killed in the defence of the islands. I think we did the Japanese a favor by dropping the bombs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pannkakskungen Posted July 23, 2005 #6 Share Posted July 23, 2005 I thought everybody knew that Truman had two "targets" in mind with dropping the bombs, first, make Japan realize they cant win or really hold out for a long time without losing huge numbers of lives. Second, show Stalin that he should give up any idea he had in his dirty little mind about expanding his evil empire further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AztecInca Posted July 24, 2005 #7 Share Posted July 24, 2005 Well of course he just decided to kill 200,000 thousand people so he could start another war that may have cost countless more lives! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryOldtimer Posted July 24, 2005 #8 Share Posted July 24, 2005 I think not. Cold War just cost money, no one won. 749601[/snapback] From a technology and basic scientific knowledge standpoint, the cold war was the best thing that ever happened to the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROGER Posted July 25, 2005 #9 Share Posted July 25, 2005 THE COLD WAR AND THE SPACE PROGRAM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STIX Posted July 25, 2005 #10 Share Posted July 25, 2005 "According to an account by Walter Brown, assistant to then-US secretary of state James Byrnes, Truman agreed at a meeting three days before the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima that Japan was "looking for peace". Truman was told by his army generals, Douglas Macarthur and Dwight Eisenhower, and his naval chief of staff, William Leahy, that there was no military need to use the bomb. "Impressing Russia was more important than ending the war in Japan," says Selden. Truman was also worried that he would be accused of wasting money on the Manhattan Project to build the first nuclear bombs, if the bomb was not used, he adds." I think that this is very possible. The US needed to scare the russians because of the looming cold war, it was inevitable, japan would eventually surrender which would lead to an arms race between russia and the US. It is logical to assume that after forseeing this chance the act of flexing the USA's military muscle would give them a head start against the russians. I agree, japan would've surrendered without the use of the A-bomb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charon Posted July 25, 2005 #11 Share Posted July 25, 2005 The people who saw the Little Boy often say "We saw another sun in the sky when it exploded." The heat and the light generated by the Little Boy were far stronger than bombs which they had seen before. When the heat wave reached ground level it burnt all before it including people. .... The radiation generated by the bomb caused long-term problems to those affected. Many people died within the first few months and many more in subsequent years because of radiation exposure. Some people had genetic problems which sometimes resulted in having malformed babies or being unable to have children...... The volunteers who participated in this project, strongly believe that the world must learn about weapons of total destruction. We hope that the information presented here will help you understand the pain and devastation that nuclear weapons can cause. We don't want you to just feel sorry for the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the war inflicted untold pain and suffering on many people in Asia and the Pacific. Rather we want you to work with us to ensure that all of us can live in a safe world. .... Caution! There are some graphic pictures at this web site. Source: csi.ad.jp/ABOMB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baku Posted July 28, 2005 #12 Share Posted July 28, 2005 (edited) I heard about this before and I think its true. That was the time when the Cold War began. And throwing a bomb into a city full of inocent people is not fighting war, its total genocide, so I agree this is a act of war crime against humanity. Edited August 7, 2005 by Baku Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cow666 Posted August 8, 2005 #13 Share Posted August 8, 2005 Anyway bombing anybody for any reason SUCKS big time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Strangelove Posted August 8, 2005 #14 Share Posted August 8, 2005 Anyway bombing anybody for any reason SUCKS big time. 778787[/snapback] I think thats what we thought about Pearl Harbor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekorig Posted August 8, 2005 #15 Share Posted August 8, 2005 The ****** A-Bomb...the greatest contribution that the USA made to the world. for every vengefull USA citizens that talks about bombing some place in the way of making a revenge: look at the picture above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayRob303 Posted August 8, 2005 #16 Share Posted August 8, 2005 The concept of war simply eludes some people... Does anyone have a concept of the number of American soldiers that were saved by dropping these bombs? Both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were legitimate strategic targets for the US... By late July, the group had a list of four cities: n Kokura, which had one of Japan's largest munitions plants. n Hiroshima, a major staging area for Japan's army and navy and the site of several industrial plants. n Niigata, a major port on the Sea of Japan with an oil refinery, a tanker terminal and an iron works. n Kyoto, the former capital of Japan, a major industrial city with plants producing parts for machinery, aircraft and artillery. Hiroshima had been picked for the attack for a series of tactical reasons. It was the headquarters for the Japanese 2nd General Army. It was a storage and staging point for military operations in the region, and it was an industrial center. Nagasaki was picked, the city contained two arms factories, a steel works and the massive Mitsubishi shipyards. One factory made some of the torpedoes used on Pearl Harbor. It wasn't a heartless, hate filled decision...look at the following... Stimson wanted Kyoto off the list because of its religious and historical significance to Japan. Here's a concept for you: When in Desert Storm, I loved to hear the sound of the A10's coming in, and wiping out the tank fleet that was heading our way...those tank killers wiped out at least 3/4 of the incoming armor...we wiped out the rest while they were dazed and confused. When the bombers went in days before us and erradicated a target such as an enemy base or staging area or regrouping area, they wiped out the encampments, and housing facilities around them...you might ask yourself why, the answer is simple, a place doesn't fix or rebuild itself, or even operate the machines and equipment...the people do, and it's the people that are a threat in a combat situation such as that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Strangelove Posted August 8, 2005 #17 Share Posted August 8, 2005 It is very difficult for me to feel sympathy for the Japanese due to the nuclear attacks. People often forget the horrific slaughter of the Chinese that they engaged in. I am also not convinced they were going to surrender quite as easily as some people believe. We could have just kept on firebombing them. Curtis LeMay demonstrated how well we could do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayRob303 Posted August 8, 2005 #18 Share Posted August 8, 2005 Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PadawanOsswe Posted August 9, 2005 #19 Share Posted August 9, 2005 the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified. just look at The Iwo Jima invasion. does anybody have any friggin clue how many troops it would have taken to invade and take over all of Japan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PadawanOsswe Posted August 9, 2005 #20 Share Posted August 9, 2005 The ****** A-Bomb...the greatest contribution that the USA made to the world. for every vengefull USA citizens that talks about bombing some place in the way of making a revenge: look at the picture above. 779891[/snapback] yeah, its sad that children and other innocent bystanders got killed and wounded. but s*** happens and The Japanese Government brought it upon themselves. so if anybody is to blame, its definatly not America. the world needed an end to the war and fast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayRob303 Posted August 9, 2005 #21 Share Posted August 9, 2005 It is really easy to sit back and pass judgement on something that happened 50 or 60 years ago. You also have to keep in mind that there was a different mind-set for those times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekorig Posted August 9, 2005 #22 Share Posted August 9, 2005 Yes, the mindset of "we must show the russian that our penis is bigger". Jappan was defeated to that time. No steel, no oil, almost no food. The civilian gov, long ago restrained by the militars, was triying to break free. Whiout the USA invasion, the worst case was a brief civil war, but the Emperor wanted the peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walken Posted August 9, 2005 #23 Share Posted August 9, 2005 ...was done more to impress the Soviet Union than to cow Japan, they say. Pfft, I've been saying this for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Strangelove Posted August 9, 2005 #24 Share Posted August 9, 2005 Yes, the mindset of "we must show the russian that our penis is bigger". Jappan was defeated to that time. No steel, no oil, almost no food. The civilian gov, long ago restrained by the militars, was triying to break free. Whiout the USA invasion, the worst case was a brief civil war, but the Emperor wanted the peace. 780794[/snapback] Inspite of that they were still killing American and British service people. They also planned to slaughter several hundred thousand prisoners of war if we invaded. When the Strategic Bombing Survey inspected Japan after the war they discovered that we had grossly underestimated the Japanese ability to resist. I'm glad we nuked them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekorig Posted August 10, 2005 #25 Share Posted August 10, 2005 has i said...and later some of your people wander why half the world hates you, and the other half didnt like your country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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