The Atomic Bomb

by Gen

Was the atomic bomb really needed to end WWII?

There are many questions and contreversies about the atomic bomb... lets get in depth and find out if the A-Bomb was really needed.

First.. there are several reasons why the A-Bomb was needed:

The Japanese demonstrated near fanatical resistance, fighting almost to the last man on Pacific Islands, committing mass sucicide on Saipan and unleashing kamikaze attacks on Okinawa. Fire bombing had killed 100,000 in Tokyo with no discernable political effect. Only the the atomic bomb could jolt Japan's leadership to surrender.

With only two bombs ready it was too risky to waste one in a demonstration over an unpopulated area.

An invasion of Japan would have caused casualties on both sides that could have easily exceeded the toll of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The two targeted cities would have been firebombed anyway.

Immediate use of the bomb convinced the world of its horror and prevented future use when nuclear stockpiles were far larger.

The bomb's use impressed the Soviet Union and halted the war quickly enough that the USSR did not demand joint occupation of Japan.

However, lets take a look at some of the reasons it wasn't needed:

Japan was about to quit anyway. More than 60 of its cities had been destroyed by conventional bombing, the home islands were being blockaded by the American Navy, and the Soviet Union entered the war by attacking Japanese troops in Manchuria.

American refusal to modify its unconditional surrender demand to allow the Japanese to keep their emporer needlessly prolonged Japan's resistance.

A demonstration explosion over Tokyo harbor would have convinced Japan's leaders to quit without killing many people.

Even if Hiroshima was necessary, the US did not give enough time for word to filter out of its devastation before bombing Nagasaki.

The bomb was used partly to justify the $2 billion spent on development.

The two cities were of limited military value. Civilians outnumbered troops in Hiroshima five or six to one.

Japanese lives were sacrified simply for the power politics between the US and the Soviet Union.

Conventional firebombing would have cause as much damage without making the US the first nation to use nuclear weapons.

Death toll: 140,000

Gob bless the innocent souls that died that day...