The decision to drop the atomic bomb
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Nov 24, 2024
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The decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan at the end of World War II is complex and controversial,
with many factors at play. Here, I'll elaborate on the reasons and add context. The first reason was to end
the Japan war. Japan and the US fought a brutal and costly war for four years. The Japanese military was
entrenched, and conventional warfare was difficult and deadly. The Battle of Okinawa, just before the
atomic bombings, showed Japanese resistance. After a full-scale invasion of Japan, the Allies expected
massive casualties on both sides. With their unprecedented destructive power, the Hiroshima and
Nagasaki atomic bombings forced Japan to surrender (
Alperovitz, Messer & Bernstein, 2017).
The
devastating effects of these bombings forced the Japanese leadership to admit defeat, ending the war
quickly.
Communist threat was the second reason. After World War II, the US and USSR became superpowers
with opposing ideologies. The rise of communism, exemplified by the Soviet Union, threatened
democratic societies. The fear of a nuclear-armed Soviet Union spreading communism worldwide drove
U.S. policy, including atomic weapons use (
Alperovitz, Messer & Bernstein, 2017)
. The U.S. hoped to
deter Soviet expansionism and stop communism's military spread by showing nuclear weapons'
overwhelming power.
The third reason was American troop safety. Battles in the Pacific theater of WWII were intense and
bloody. A prolonged war with high casualties was likely to follow an invasion of the Japanese home
islands. The atomic bombings accelerated Japan's surrender, saving many American soldiers from a land
invasion. To reduce American casualties, decision-makers believed the war must be ended quickly and
decisively.
Note that these reasons were interconnected and influenced the decision to use atomic bombs. The
morality and ethics of this decision have been hotly debated, and historians continue to study it.
References
Alperovitz, G., Messer, R. L., & Bernstein, B. J. (2017). Marshall, Truman, and the decision to drop the
bomb.
International Security
,
16
(3), 204-221.
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