The Danger Of Atomic Weapons

They take the worst situations and turn them into learning experiences that bring the country together. They prove that “Terrorism has led to devastation-and unity” (Quindlen 5), and they show it by joining together and helping each other out after a terrible act of violence. Quindlen uses Ethos in order to convey a specific emotion to the reader. Whether patriotism or peace, anybody who reads her work grasps a new understanding of how America is still around. After 9/11, American citizens were not complacent and did not whimper about and complain.

One of the most controversial and heavily scrutinized issue of the twentieth century was President Harry S. Truman’s decision to unleash atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The motives behind Truman’s actions are shrouded in controversy as top military officials publicly denounced the use of such a disastrous weapon. There is overwhelming evidence supporting both sides of the decision, as historians are split in opinion. The United States had been using conventional bombing to try to push Japan over the edge to surrender, but with countless Japanese civilians loyal to their country, invading Japan proved to be more problematic than first thought. Harry S. Truman made the ultimate decision of dropping the atomic bomb in hopes that it would end the war, but the amount of casualties caused by it has historians questioning if it was morally right, “The bomb was unfortunate, but it was the only means to bring Japan to a surrender,” historian Sadao Asada states (Bomb 9). Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justifiable because they would ultimately lead to the end of the war and would demonstrate U.S. supremacy.

Two main theorists of international relations, Kenneth Waltz and Scott Sagan have been debating on the issue of nuclear weapons and the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the 21st century. In their book The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: An Enduring Debate, they both discuss their various theories, assumptions and beliefs on nuclear proliferation and nuclear weapons. To examine why states would want to attain/develop a nuclear weapon and if increasing nuclear states is a good or bad thing. In my paper, I will discuss both of their theories and use a case study to illustrate which theory I agree with and then come up with possible solutions of preventing a nuclear war from occurring.

There are striking parallels between the eras of the Cold War and the War on Terror and America’s International Relations. After World War II, the Truman Doctrine became America’s ideology for combating communism throughout the globe. Similarly, after the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, America’s philosophy was then succeeded by the Bush Doctrine to battle the new threat, the war on terror. In addition, both the long climatic wars of each era (Vietnam War and War in Iraq) shared comparable lead-ups, beginnings, and endings in their conflicts in each region, their politics and shared resentment by the American public. The final parallel is the common suspicions

Just to provide historical background information on the issue I am about to address I will first set the scene. On the morning of December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The attacked lasted a little over two hours, but it was devastating: The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, and another 1,000 were wounded. The day after the assault, President

The United States decision to use atomic bombs to end the war appeared to be the saving grace for the American people. Once World War II came to an end as a result of the bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, however, the eyes of Americans were opened to the possibility that what they viewed as salvation for their country could be equated with the evils committed by the Axis powers. For example, many trials were held against German men that were a part of the Nazi operation that executed the Holocaust, and these men were charged and executed for crimes against humanity. They decimated millions of people’s lives because they were taught that it was necessary for the further prevalence of their country. Many Americans possessed the same feelings towards the issue to drop the nuclear bombs on Japan. They felt that the bombs were necessary to end the war and save the “innocent” lives of American soldiers. Nevertheless, while this may or may not have been true, other innocent lives were taken in the process. As Manley Pointer was disguised as a prophet who could offer hope for Hulga, America was disguised as the deliverer from the atrocities of war. However, in contrast, America furthered the atrocities of war and left the Japanese as vulnerable and wounded as Manley left Hulga on the loft. As O’Connor stated in her commentary “On Her Own Work,” the contemporary age “not only does not have a very sharp eye for the almost imperceptible intrusions of grace, it

Without the hindsight we have now, the atomic bomb seemed like the only reasonable choice to save American lives and to end the war. Wartime rules are not the same as rules during times of peace, people can make decisions they would rarely make without the duress of battle. Many today look at the ethical reasoning with views not available at the time. To understand the past you must “pretend you don’t know the present” (Fussell p. 24). This was not a case of diplomatic decisions but one of revenge and warfare (Long). Even some Japanese people understand the thought behind the decisions, debating that the Japanese could have used the technology if it had been available to them: “Despite the sufferings the attack caused, Matsushima feels

As Americans, there was no end in sight for the War in the Pacific. The Japanese would rather die than surrender, and as American casualties rise, the need for a final ultimatum was becoming more and more dire. Dropping the atomic bomb was an unfortunate but necessary action taken to defeat an enemy who believed in unconditional surrender. At the time, we had two options to take to end the War in the Pacific. Option one was to invade mainland Japan. This would cost America countless lives on top of those already lost. A former American prisoner of war once said, “If we’d landed there with force we’d have killed off more people than were killed by the bomb”. Option two was to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This would save

Terrorism is one international political issue that has been significant in US society since the end of the Cold War. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, America’s sense of security has been destroyed and continued terrorist attacks in other parts of the world targeting Americans, as well as other allied nations further fuels a sense of anxiety. From Bin Laden, to Saddam Hussein and ISIS the fear of further terrorism attacks is

The most tearful and saddest day is the September 11, 2011. If I was in that day during that event, kids like myself going to school and only put themselves glued to a television screen or all the news of the radio to hear horror story as two air planes rammed themselves into the World Trade Center. For those who were students, it was a vision that they cannot comprehend as people were screaming and begging for help on the ground while those who was in those building at that time of the attack jumped off to get a quick death. And for children at those moments, when they went home, they could not see their parents, their brothers and sisters. After few days passed by, they realize that their family was passed away. They lost their family within few moments and they became orphans; they did not understand how this event would end up being a wakeup call for everyone in the world; and this day will mark the moment of events in United Stated history where regulations on security in airports. Not only airports, many other public locations will change the way of thinking with this society nowadays. And few years later passed by, those children who have become adults now think the world in a different scope compared to what it was years ago, and along with those changes created a new generation that brings out the different outlooks and opinions on how the world should react when facing

The splitting of the atom in 1917 by Rutherford [1] brought with it an unimaginable amount of rapid advancements leading up to the world’s first successful atomic bomb explosion on July 16 1945 at Trinity Site near White Sands Air Force Base [3]. This bomb proved that the atomic bomb was a possibility definitively which led to two more bombs, of similar properties and destructive power, being dropped on Japan in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th of that year. Following these attacks was a huge political debate that probed the question of; was it the right thing to do?, was it really worth the death toll?, and many other questions from those on the fence of atomic

In history, there are a lot of moments where the biggest decisions are made and everyone is either fully against it or for it. No matter who decides the outcome or who decides what is going to happen, there will always be people there to argue the decision. Key events in time where I believe this style of opinions are when the United States dropped the Atomic bombs in Japan. There are a lot of arguments back then and still today that are questioning the necessity of the use of atomic bombs by the United States. Though anyone who knows history should agree with the opinion I stand for. I believe that the use of the atomic bomb was necessary for the United States in ending the war.

In 1945, President Truman had to make one of the toughest decisions a president has ever been faced with. This decision, of course, being whether to drop the atomic bombs on Japanese cities, not drop the bombs at all, or do a demonstration by dropping a bomb in the ocean near Tokyo. Truman eventually chose to drop the atomic bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945. This choice to drop the atomic bombs was right because these bombings assisted in slowing the expansion of the Soviet Union, changed the Japanese never-give-up mentality, and prevented the loss of many American and Japanese lives.

Nuclear weapons are the most dangerous weapons on earth. One can demolish a whole city, potentially killing millions, and exposed the natural environment and lives of future generations through its long-term catastrophic effects. According to the UNODA- United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (2011), “Although nuclear weapons have only been used twice in warfare- in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945-about 22,000 reportedly remains in our world today and there have been over 2,000 nuclear tests conducted to date.” Nuclear weapons have been viewed as a threat to peace by world leaders. There have been debates of whether to let Iran and North Korea acquire nuclear weapons, leaders all around the world along with Liberals believe that it is a threat to peace and should limit the spread whereas neo realist have another belief that nuclear weapon can make the world a peaceful place. Because states would fear to attack each other. For example the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 and cold war- there were only threats and war did not happen because of nuclear deterrence. The Cuban missile crisis has frequently been portrayed as the only time where the world stood in the point of nuclear war between the superpowers. This is an example of how nuclear weapons were used to threaten the rival. Another examples would be that of India and Pakistan before they acquire nuclear weapon , they fought three bloody wars after having their independence but since 1998, after acquiring

Modern terrorists have come to the realization that “they cannot defeat the United States in a conventional war, but they can impose significant pain through acts of terrorism,” (Stern, p.5). After a century of American military, economic, and social success, the US has been elevated to the forefront of the global community. A defense budget of $401.7 billion makes the United States the dominant military force in the world, (2005 US Federal Budget). Furthermore, our history of success has established a general sentiment of invincibility among American citizens, and an attack on our civilian population would have tremendous ramifications, as was seen with the occurrence of September 11th. However, unlike al-Qaeda in Afghanistan under the Taliban, a nuclear attack may come from a group that does not enjoy the sponsorship of a state, making retaliation quite complicated. This sense of anonymity is another issue of terrorists with nukes that trumps a state with such capabilities. In the case of a state, there is a particular, defined, and easily identifiable party