Posted on 08/10/2010 5:42:30 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
Friday was the anniversary of the U.S. Bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. Monday is the anniversary of its bombing of Nagasaki.
The explosion of the Fat Man atomic device over Nagasaki is pictured. It rose eleven miles into the sky over Ground Zero.
The important thing, though, is that it—together with the Little Boy device that was deployed over Hiroshima—killed approximately 200,000 human beings. And it ended the war with Japan.
It is understandable that many Americans at the time were relieved that the long burden of the bloodiest war in human history could finally be laid down. Many then, as now, saw the use of nuclear weapons against Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a necessary step to preventing even more casualties.
However, some of the blogging being done to commemorate the attack is most unfortunate.
Consider Michael Graham, who wishes his readers a “Happy Peace Through Victory Day.”
Today marks the anniversary of the single greatest act in the cause of peace ever taken by the United States:
Dropping the A-bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. That one decision, that one device, saved more lives, did more to end war, and created more justice in the world in a single stroke than any other. It was done by America, for Americans. It saved the lives of hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of American soldiers and sailors.
So, obviously, President Obama’s not too happy about it. . . .
Euroweenie peaceniks and an annoying number of American liberals see the bombing of Hiroshima as a shameful act. What is it America should be ashamed for—defeating an enemy that declared war on us? Bringing about the end of a fascist empire that killed millions of people, mostly Asians? Preventing the slaughter of the good guys—Americans—by killing the bad guys—the Japanese?
I am not a Euroweenie or a peacenik or a political liberal or even someone opposed to the use of nuclear weapons in principle. I can imagine scenarios in which their use would be justified. I can even deal with the cheeky “Happy Peace Through Victory Day” headline.
But Mr. Graham’s analysis of the situation on a moral level is faulty.
It is true that, by instilling terror in the Japanese government, the use of atomic weapons prevented further and, in all probability, greater casualties on both sides.
Preventing further and greater casualties is a good thing, but as the Catechism reminds us:
The Church and human reason both assert the permanent validity of the moral law during armed conflict. The mere fact that war has regrettably broken out does not mean that everything becomes licit between the warring parties [CCC 2312].
It isn’t just a question of the goal of an action. The goal may be a good one, but the means used to achieve it may be evil. The Catechism states:
Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation. A danger of modern warfare is that it provides the opportunity to those who possess modern scientific weapons - especially atomic, biological, or chemical weapons - to commit such crimes [CCC 2314].
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were definitely acts of war directed to the destruction of whole cities or—at least—vast areas with their inhabitants. The only quibbling could be about whether this was “indiscriminate” destruction. Someone might argue (stretching the word “indiscriminate” rather severely and taking it in a sense probably not meant by the Catechism) that they were not indiscriminate attacks in that they were aimed at vital Japanese war resources (munitions factories, troops, etc.) and the only practical way to take out these resources was to use atomic weapons.
Mounting such a case would face a number of problems. One would have to show that Hiroshima and Nagasaki contained such resources (not that difficult to show) and that these resources themselves were proportionate in value to the massive collateral damage that would be inflicted (a much more difficult task) and that there was no other practical way—like a more targeted bombing—to take them out (again a difficult task).
But for purposes of argument, let’s grant all this. Let’s suppose that there were such resources, and that they were proportionate in value to the massive loss of civilian lives and that there was no other way to get rid of them.
Does that absolve the U.S. of guilt in these two bombings?
No.
You can see why in the logic that Mr. Graham used. It stresses the fact that the use of these weapons saved net lives. This was undoubtedly uppermost in the U.S. military planners’ thinking as they faced the possibility of an extremely bloody invasion of Japan in which huge numbers on both sides would die.
But notice what is not being said—either by Mr. Graham or anybody else: “Hiroshima and Nagasaki contained such important war widgets that without those widgets Japan would be unable to prosecute the war. Thus by taking out those military resources we could deprive Japan of its ability to make war.”
Neither is anybody saying something like this: “We needed to scare Japan into surrender by showing them that we could destroy all of their military resources. We needed to make them terrified of losing all their military resources so that, out of a desperate desire to preserve their military resources, they would surrender.”
These are the dogs that didn’t bark, and they are why this line of argument is a dog that won’t hunt.
The reason nobody says these things is that they were not the thinking behind the U.S.‘s actions. The idea was not to end the war through the direct destruction of military resources in these two cities, nor was it to end the war by scaring Japan into thinking we might destroy all of its military resources. It was scaring Japan into surrendering by threatening (explicitly) to do this over and over again and inflict massive damage on the Japanese population. In other words, to make them scared that we would engage in “the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants.”
That means that, even if Hiroshima and Nagasaki had contained military resources that of themselves would have justified the use of atomic weapons (which is very hard to argue), our intention still was not pure. We were still using Japanese civilians as hostages to the war effort, still threatening to kill civilians if Japan did not surrender. That was the message we wanted the Japanese leadership to get—not, “We will take out your military resources if you keep this up,” but, “We will take out big chunks of your population if you keep this up.”
That meant that the U.S. leadership was formally participating in evil. It does not matter if the attacks of Hiroshima and Nagasaki could (through some stretch of the imagination) be justified in themselves. The fact is that they were used to send a message telling the Japanese government that we would kill massive numbers of the military and civilian population, without discrimination. That message is evil, and to knowingly and deliberately send that message is to formally participate in evil.
That made these attacks war crimes.
Now, make no mistake. I’m an American. I’m a fan of the U.S. But love of the United States should not preclude one from being able to look honestly at the mistakes it has committed in the past. Indeed, it is only by looking at and frankly acknowledging the mistakes of the past that we can learn from them. Love of one’s country should impel one to help it not commit such evils.
Racial discrimination? Bad thing. Allowing abortions? Bad thing. Dropping nukes to deliberately kill civilians? Bad thing. Let’s try not to have things like these mar America’s future.
Last I heard Japan was only months away from dropping a bomb on US.
It was us or them.
Throughout World War II American commanders had gone out of their way to avoid civilian casualties.
On the night of 9th March, 1945, the U.S Air Force firebombed Tokyo. the resulting firestorm killed more than 100,000 people, more than died immediately in Hiroshima.
Our commanders, and specifically Gen. Curtis LeMay, were not trying to avoid civilian casualties.
Cities that had already been severely damaged by conventional bombing were eliminated from the list of those considered for atomic bombing, as this would not have provided an accurate demonstration of the power of the bomb. An exception was Nagasaki, but this was not the original target of that bombing mission. I believe that it is true that we avoided bombing Kyoto for cultural reasons and that President Truman may have been involved in this decision.
“Akin’s argument is that they were not collateral deaths: they were the target. Their deaths were not just foreseen, but intended for strategic psychological impact.”
I disagree with this premise. You don't warn folks to flee if your intention is to nuke ‘em in order to kill them.
It may be that the Japanese ultimately interpreted the Bomb as Akin believes it was intended. It may be that there were some folks involved in the execution of the attack who intended it that way. It may even be that it was an unavoidable secondary effect of the use of the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
But at least to me, it's tough to say that it was the direct, intended effect of the Bomb, considering that the American military dropped large numbers of leaflets warning Japanese to flee.
These actions suggest to me that the formal, direct, primary, intended effect was to demonstrate to the Japanese government that we could easily, readily destroy everything they had that could possibly be used to make war, every economic asset, every bit of infrastructure, every factory, every port, every airfield, every building that could possibly used in any tangential way toward the war effort, without even breaking a sweat, and therefore, further resistance was futile.
sitetest
Thanks.
For starters, the United States was NEVER even considering accepting anything less than the total surrender of Japan. People can think whatever they want, but we were going to be at war with Japan until they surrendered and this was something that the the American people completely supported.
The name of the planned invasion was “Operation Downfall” and estimates for just AMERICAN deaths ranged from around 100,000 to nearly a million. A stockpile half a million Purple Hearts were cast in anticipation of the invasion of Japan, the American military is still using this stock TODAY.
The reality is that American estimates were way off, the Japanese had more than twice the number of operational planes we thought they had. Plus, Westerners were just beginning to understand the concept of suicide missions, Japan was full of civilians (older men, women and children) who were eager to die for Japan — this is something totally different from what we encountered in Germany.
Based on what we know today, it is very possible that between the Allies and the Japanese that between three and five million people would die and two to three times that number would be seriously injured. The Atomic Bombs SAVED millions of lives.
What seems to escape some people’s attention is that it took TWO bombs with threats of more to get them to capitulate.
The first one wasn’t enough. The second one almost wasn’t enough.
It wasn’t until they realized that we were serious that they voted to surrender.
Don’t forget that this was the same country which bombed Pearl Harbor in a sneak attack while their ambassador was in Washington signing a peace treaty.
And the atrocities committed against non-Japanese by the Japanese soldiers were abominable.
They had to be stopped and if that’s what it took to do it, so be it.
I don’t hear anyone decrying their sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, or whining about the morality of THAT.
And Tojo was not nearly ready to surrender, in fact there were plans to assassinate Emperor Hirohito, to keep the war going.
Where’s the condemnation of Japan for its sneak attack on Pearl Harbor?
I guess it depends some one which country is doing the attacking....
But...but...they were only responding to our criminal embargo, don'cha know? (I'm sure eventually that is what our textbooks will end up saying)
I’d love to know where you heard that.
Japan DID NOT have an atomic bomb or anything even close to it in magnitude.
By Spring, 1945 the Japanese Navy had been pretty much destroyed and the Allies controlled the Pacific. They wouldn’t have had any means to fly a bomber to the United States.
Absolutely agree.
I may be wrong, but wasn’t it Germany that was close to having the bomb?
I think Germany was close to having something. It’s questionable if they would have ever been able to perfect it though.
Even if they did develop one they would have never been able to use it against the United States. They would have used it against either England or (and this is far more likely) the Soviet Union.
Totally disagree!!!
Thank you. That's something that is not mentioned much.
The movie is “Japan’s Longest Day” made in 1967 in Japan. The Ol’ Mizris and I were riveted.
Details, details.....
Hindsight is 20/20.
There's a world of difference between indiscriminately murdering someone and ending a war.
God's command is *Do not murder*, and yet in war, the Israelites killed and did not break that command.
Neither is capital punishment, which was instituted by God, murder.
This was not killing just for the sake of killing.
If you want to condemn the US because innocent civilians died, as they do in any war, that is your prerogative, but the Catholic church is not the boss of the United States.
If the Vatican wants to let itself be annihilated, that's their own business, but they have no business dictating to our government how it should conduct its affairs.
Nor is it reasonable or rational to apply standards from the Catholic catechism to situations which occurred BEFORE the catechism was written.
Your condemnation of the US for moral failure is appalling.
I had heard that but couldn't find anything about that on the web.
It was something on the History channel, IIRC.
It was a couple years ago, but they were allegedly working together with the Germans in assembling the bomb. I think that Germany was providing the fuel and it was en route to Japan at the time of the attacks.
I’d have to look up more on it, but it’ll have to be later.
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