Avoiding Nuclear War 101

Often times, the proposition of unleashing any form of nuclear attack is the result of faulty communication between two parties, misunderstanding, the lack of empathy for the opposition, and essentially, human short-sightedness and ignorance. Both sides should ensure that all negotiation and correct grounds have been established before even allowing the idea of a nuclear attack can become a possibility to end this conflict. If it all goes well, other means of resolution can be produced without being forced to obtain peace through non-peaceful methods. As President of the United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis, John F Kennedy, once said, “Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man.”

Here, “solved by man”, does not translate for immediate nuclear war that will ultimately lead us to the predicted Armageddon. No conflict is too big to allow only the decision for nuclear war, and when faced with trouble, our leaders should be able to think outside the box to figure out a alternate route. They must understand that the utilization of any nuclear weapons will effect the future of world as a whole, not just their enemies. Any attack on “them”, will essentially be an attack on “us”, as well. Only after being aware of where exactly it will lead us, can they responsibly (and hopefully not) say that a nuclear war is the only remaining option that we are left with. If that ever happens, well, let’s just say, "May God help us.”

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Hiroshima & Nagasaki: A grave mistake?

In August of 1945, the first atomic bomb, “Little Boy”, was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan by US forces. Shortly following was the release of the second bomb, “Fat Man”, on Nagasaki. These order were issued by President Harry S. Truman whom, at the time, saw no other route to end the war. His military officers and generals advised him that this was the best decision to make so as to prevent any more innocent deaths of the citizens. The dropping of these 2 bombs would cause an unconditional surrender of the Japanese, ending the war once and for all. However, Truman never foresaw the innumerable consequences of the bombings. Over 200,000 victims died immediately, and more still presently suffer from the side effects of the radiation. In addition to the 60 already destroyed, these two remaining major cities cities were reduced to debris and it was no doubt that it took several years to rebuild the country back to the norm again. Some then, may see this as a decision that never should have even been considered. The unnecessary deaths of thousands, the complete demolition of cities, and the unwavering radiation that still remains and harms the Japanese living there.

What, then could have been a sensible alternative that would’ve produced this identical instantaneous surrender of the enemy? The primary objective of sending the bomb down wasn’t to cause to cause the thousands of casualties that resulted, but to instill the absolute need of a surrender from the Japanese. Some may say that blood of thousands of innocent civilians can not possible justify anything. But what of the millions that possibly would’ve been slaughtered anyway if the war had continued? The Japanese was no where near done with the damage they inflicted on the Allies. Sure, we cannot gauge when the bloodshed would’ve come to an end, but at difficult times, such as the one that Harry S Truman faced, he wasn’t willing to risk the any more lives of his American people.

I can conclude that, in my opinion, the release of the atomic bomb was justified. It wasn’t “right” or “moral”, in the sense the fate of thousands of lives was controlled by one person’s orders, but it should’ve happened and it was probably the best thing to do at the time. The display of aftereffects of the atomic bombs showed the world what extent of technological revolution they’d reached. After this event, leaders from all around the world met and agreed never to use the atomic bomb ever again, now they saw first hand the damage it could inflict. Without seeing what the bomb could do, someone else would’ve taken the lead and dropped their atomic bombs in some other country after 1945 anyway. It triggered the instantaneous halt to the war, saving the lives of soldiers from each country and any future lives that would’ve been killed by atomic bombs.

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