Guest Author
President Barack Obama’s visit to the Japanese Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park later this month is an opportunity for the world to reflect on the United States’ decision to use atomic weapons to destroy the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Seventy thousand civilians were incinerated by the Hiroshima blast and another 70,000 would die from the effects of radiation. Tens of thousands more suffered lifelong injuries and illness.
The purpose of Obama’s visit is not to raise justification issues related to the bombings but to make a statement against the proliferation of nuclear weapons and to pursue peace without such devastating weapons. It would be the first visit by a U.S. President since the Memorial’s creation April 1, 1954.
Although his visit hopes to avoid discussions relating to the use of “Little Boy” and “Fat Man,” the decision to use the bomb has been controversial since the bombings. Most historians say Japan sought peace before the bombing. Germany had already surrendered.
Harry Truman had been appointed president April 12, 1945, three months before his decision to drop the bombs. As Roosevelt confided little in Truman, the new President had to play catch-up on the Manhattan Project that developed the bomb and the circumstances that led to the decision to use it.
An excellent overview of the period can be found in Gar Alperovitz’s “The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb,” a comprehensive work that approaches the decision from military and political perspectives.
The top brass of both the Navy and Army showed reservations about using the bomb. Such concerns were clarified in conversations and memos noted in Alperovitz’s book. Political considerations may well have been the driving force behind the decision.
Truman justified the bombings, saying they caused the Japanese to surrender, thereby avoiding an invasion of Japan that would have cost the lives of thousands of American soldiers. Critics, however, say an invasion would not have been needed. Those against the bomb have argued that Japan was already negotiating a surrender. They further claim the bomb was used to educate the Russians about our nuclear capability.
Conservatives had already whipped up anti-communist sentiments. The American mood was evolving to “better dead than Red.”
U.S. and Russian relations were fragile at best throughout the war. Initially, Russia aligned with the Nazis. However, the Germans attacked Russia, which then joined forces with allies. With a German surrender, the Russians demanded their share of the booty and a divided Berlin was their reward.
The Japanese had asked the Russians to broker a peace with the allies. It is suggested that America wanted no part of Russian interference in a defeated Japan. The U.S. went ahead with the bomb.
Also, the Japanese occupations were brutal and some American leaders demanded Japan be punished for its brutality.
Sadly, the targets were not military. Two cities untouched by the war were devastated.
Arguments aside, the U.S. is the only nation to have used an atomic weapon on any battlefield. The development of these weapons has not made the world a safer place.
Obama is correct to promote the end of nuclear proliferation and promote peace among all nations. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial is hallowed ground.
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Dr. Marc Yacht, M.D. is a retired physician living in Hudson, Florida.
