America had already won the war, they knew Japan would surrender in a matter of days as they were already well beaten but America needed to make a statement in that war.America needed to avenge the pearl harbour bombings, America needed to announce itself as the new world order and Nagasaki and Hiroshima we the experimental cities.

In war, all is fair but this bombing by America falls below the standard rule of engagement.

Kudos to the Japanese, they bounced back big time.

freeradical:
Does that make it just. They are other ways of ending the war that are far better than the mass murdering of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians including children in a single gruesome nuclear blast.

I just read it last week that America actually dropped flyers from planes alerting the citizens that their cities were to be bombed and they should evacuate them.

Obviously, they called America's bluff because they had the upper hand in the war at that point.

HopeAtHand:
America had already won the war, they knew Japan would surrender in a matter of days as they were already well beaten but America needed to make a statement in that war.America needed to avenge the pearl harbour bombings, America needed to announce itself as the new world order and Nagasaki and Hiroshima we the experimental cities.

In war, all is fair but this bombing by America falls below the standard rule of engagement.

Kudos to the Japanese, they bounced back big time.

Not exactly.....the Japanese were still fighting....and the Japanese cabinet had rejected an end to the war a few days prior to the bombings.

Infact....the Japanese army wanted to continue fighting..after the bombs dropped...but the Emperor stopped them.

bushdoc9919:


Actually, the Japanese who were bombed were not much better.....they had conquered many Asian countries between 1931-45....and committed many war crimes and atrocities there.(Goggle Comfort women for one example).

Also, the Americans dropped the bombs partly because the alternative was an invasion of the Japanese home islands...which might have led to millions of deaths.(The Japanese were not ready to surrender at that time).

So..the bombing was horrible(and since I heard about Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a very young child,I have always hated nuclear weapons.)...but the alternative was worse.(Americans were estimating that 130000 American troops dead, and millions more Japanese dead based on a preliminary assesment...and their invasion of Okinawa....where hundreds committed suicide).

perfect analysis

bushdoc9919:


1.The nuclear non proliferation treaty was borne out of realism. By the time it was signed.....several nations were nuclear armed. With bombs more powerful than those dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.Everybody got scared.

And one could argue that Hiroshima and Nagasaki's bombings influenced the NPT. After all....we know how bad nuclear bombs are. Best we sign this treaty.(Out of bad things comes good things).

2.Pearl Harbor happened in 1941. America's nuclear bomb project was completed by 1945. And the Japanese too had a nuclear bomb project.(Infact, the reason why the Japanese did not surrender after Hiroshima...was that they thought the Americans did not have enough fissile material for two bombs. They were wrong).

Also, the Japanese conquered a lot of Asian countries (mostly colonies of the European powers,)...and instead of giving them their independence turned them into Japanese colonies.And they oppressed the people. Bad move.

Still doesn't cut it for me. If you are gonna fight evil do it with good not with a greater evil. I'd prefer they invaded Japan and engaged d Japanese army in conventional warfare than taking this cowardly option of mass murdering innocent civilians with such a horrific weapon.

I also agree that some good came out from these bombings afterwards as every country have forcibly embraced peace out of the fear of being another Hiroshima.

Deep in thought: A woman prays in front of the memorialto the victims of the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing onthe 70th anniversary of the attack today.

Visitors pray for the atomic bomb victims in front of the cenotaph at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park today.

bushdoc9919:


Not exactly.....the Japanese were still fighting....and the Japanese cabinet had rejected an end to the war a few days prior to the bombings.

Infact....the Japanese army wanted to continue fighting..after the bombs dropped...but the Emperor stopped them.

Bruv, America had litetally won the war, was just a matter of days.

The bombing was an announcement to the world that the USA was the new world order.

Sucha wicked act.

Symbol of peace: Dozens of doves were released into the air over a park in Hiroshima, which lies close to the epicentre of the 1945 attack.

freeradical:
Still doesn't cut it for me. If you are gonna fight evil do it with good not with a greater evil. I'd prefer they invaded Japan and engaged d Japanese army in conventional warfare than taking this cowardly option of mass murdering innocent civilians with such a horrific weapon.

I also agree that some good came out from these bombings afterwards as every country have forcibly embraced peace out of the fear of being another Hiroshima.

The Americans did have a plan for conventional warfare with the Japanese.The problem was...their planners were telling them that a potential land invasion of Japan (based partly on previous engagements with Japanese forces especially in Okinawa) could cost up to 456000 American dead....and 5-10 million Japanese dead.(I mentioned this upthread).

Partly based on that assessment...the decision was made to use the bomb.

I am not saying this with much joy by the way....I don't like nuclear bombs.

HopeAtHand:


Bruv, America had litetally won the war, was just a matter of days.

The bombing was an announcement to the world that the USA was the new world order.

Sucha wicked act.

As far as the Japanese were concerned....the war was still on.There were tentative peace feelers out (to the Soviets)....but the War cabinet was still committed to war.

Infact, the Americans had a plan to invade Japan by land. (google Operation Downfall).

The bomb was just to minimise casualties on both sides.It does not mean it was a good thing...but then again war is not good.

Still mourning: Attendees offer flowers for Hiroshima victims during the peace memorial ceremony today.

Future: A young girl offers prayers to the victims of the Hiroshima attack at the 70th anniversary service.

Commemoration: Children stage a 'die-in' in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima earlier this morning.

Nice one Sile12. I always enjoy your threads. Very educative and enlightening.


But the japanese started it with their shock and awe pearl harbour attack. Too bad.

All ages: Japanese girls on their way to school take a moment to pay their respects to the Hiroshima victims.



Representatives of A-bomb survivors carry a wreath to lay for victims killed by the atomic bombing at a cenotaph during the peace memorial ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of the city at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, 06 August 2015. Hiroshima marked the 70th anniversary of the world's first nuclear bombing of the city on 06 August.


Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3186815/The-nightmare-aftermath-Hiroshima-Parents-carry-burned-children-past-corpses-rubble-rare-photographs-taken-days-atomic-bomb-killed-140-000-people.html

Years after the detonation, hand of a survival. c1947.

Hiroshima was an event that left both the emotional shadows of the tragedy and also permanent physical shadows on the landscape of Hiroshima, Japan. These shadows were created by the great force of the nuclear weapon. Thermal radiation travels in a straight line, which means that when it is blocked by an object it creates a shadow. These shadowsstill exist around Japan today. For example, the picture shows how a wheel blocked some of the radiation and created a shadow against the nearby wall, shadow of leaf against the tree, and the shadow of man and a ladder against a wall.


http://www.omgfacts.com/theworld/323/You-ll-Be-Amazed-and-Shocked-by-These-19-Facts-About-Japan-ab630-2

City of Hiroshima after attack.

educative..

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (centre) walks in front of the memorial for victims of the 1945 atomic bombing in Hiroshima.

The blast: The U.S. atomic bomb, 'Little Boy' - the first one used at war - killed 140,000 people, and a second bomb 'Fat Man,' dropped over Nagasaki three days later,killed another 70,000, prompting Japan's surrender in the Second World War.

Carnage: This photograph taken a few weeks after the Hiroshima bombing show how only a handful of buildings remained standing.

One day japan will retaliate..

People offer prayers for victims of the atomic bombing in front of a cenotaph at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Peace Park this morning.

Grieving at the Memorial park. August, 2015.


source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3186568/Japan-marks-70th-anniversary-Hiroshima-atomic-bombing.html

Top secret raid: The Enola Gay dropped the Hiroshima bomb on August 6, 1945, three days before another atomic payload was dropped on Nagasaki.

Devastation: Hiroshima after the dropping of the atom bomb in August 1945.

Tibbets trained for several months for the mission, with the bomber named Enola Gay after his mother.The decision to unleash an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a city of military significance, was taken by U.S president Harry S Truman when the Japanese refused to surrender in July 1945. In a statement broadcast after the attack, Truman said: ‘It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe.‘The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East.’Three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, another atomic bomb, called Fat Man, was dropped on the southern port city of Nagasaki, killing another 75,000 people.


Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2633689/On-board-Necessary-Evil-Chilling-unseen-photograph-emerges-Hiroshima-mushroom-cloud-taken-U-S-bomber-just-one-MINUTE-atomic-bomb-dropped.html

Thousands observed a vigil at the Nagasaki Peace Park to remember those who died when US places dropped an atom bomb on the city 70 years ago

Scarred: Nagasaki survivor Sumitery Taniguchi, 86, was 16 (pictured) when the bomb incinerated thousands of the city's buildings and people.


Source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3190472/Nagasaki-remembers-dead-Thousands-gather-light-lanterns-memory-74-000-killed-U-S-planes-dropped-atom-bomb-Japanese-city-1945.html
Cc: Ishilove, lalasticala

Tragedy: A five-tonne plutonium bomb, known as the ‘Fat Man’, exploded 500m above the city of Nagasaki which today remembers its dead.




▶ Destruction: An image of the atomic blast's mushroom cloud was projected onto Nagasaki's Urakami Cathedral which was destroyed in the attack on August 9, 1945

Hmmn, such a pity. I pray nothing of such Calamity will befall this world again(I hope the World Powers work towards it) Amen.