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The Threat Of Nuclear Weapons

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“We no longer live in a world where only the actual firing of weapons represents a sufficient challenge to a nation’s security to constitute maximum peril.” These were the words spoken by President John F. Kennedy regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Kennedy 's words truly described the new world order ushering in and changing the way States would handle self-defense, no longer was the use of firing weapons the only threat against the security of a state but also nuclear weapons. The introduction of nuclear weapons tipped the balance of a state 's power. The states with possession of nuclear weapons would undoubtedly have more military power and thus an upper-hand in a threat of sovereignty or in case of war. But there is big…show more content…
Almost “all of the $2 billion spent on the Manhattan Project went toward building the vast industrial facilities needed to enrich Uranium.” The idea of building an extreme weapon capable of large-scale damage began with Albert Einstein’s letter to President Roosevelt concerning the Nazis might be working on atomic bombs. Subsequently, Roosevelt conceded with Einstein and other scientists’ that the building of a bomb could profoundly change the outcome of World War II and give the Allies a clear win and in October 1941, Roosevelt “authorized the first atomic bomb project.” Soon enough, the world and especially Japan, would be fully aware of the power of nuclear weapons. In the summer of 1945, the US dropped two atomic bombs in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, weeks later Japan would surrender and the Allies would claim victory, WWII would come to an end. Immediately after the bombs destroyed the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, there was moral “backlash” and condemnation. Traditional history asserts that Truman had no other choice but to detonate its most powerful weapon on Japan because the latter would not have surrender and continue fighting, only prolonging casualties and war. However, there are those who argue that the US decided to drop the bombs not for military reasons
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