The debate about the feasibility of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is controversial to this day. Bombing advocates tend to explain their position by arguing that the use of atomic weapons prevented the continuation of World War II and direct incursions, in which, according to statistics, many more people would die (Selden & Selden, 2015). In addition, the refusal of Japanese troops to surrender and Japan’s “all-out war” have also been put forward as arguments in favor of the bombing that stopped the atrocities of the “all-out war” of Japanese soldiers in China and ended the war in general. However, in my opinion, the use of such weapons, even in such conditions, does not justify the United States for several reasons.
First, the use of atomic weapons fundamentally carries with it at the moment the highest degree of barbarism and the grave consequences of its use. The cost of human lives determines the immorality of this weapon and the severe illnesses of the survivors, the high level of radiation at the site of the bombings, and, accordingly, the inability to use this territory for life or anything else. Second, the military necessity of using atomic weapons has not been proven. There is a point of view that Japan’s surrender would be inevitable very shortly. No wonder further agreements of many countries prohibited nuclear weapons since this is a hazardous type of weapon. Many famous personalities interpreted these bombings as crimes against humanity, state terrorism, or war crimes. Even though these episodes made it possible to end the Second World War, they led to the death of hundreds of thousands of people, including peaceful, unprotected, and uninterested in the war. Any opportunity to decide the outcome of the war in a more relaxed way, the existence of even a slight chance of reducing the number of victims ultimately outweighs the balance in the direction of the action’s illegality. No amount of military action can justify the use of atomic weapons.
Reference
Selden, K. I., & Selden, M. (2015). The Atomic Bomb: Voices from Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Voices from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Routledge.