Priestess Angel

Hello, members of paradise! I have a very tough question. (Or at least in my opinion it is) Was it right for the atomic bomb to be used as and end to World War II? If we had not used it, how could it have changed the outcome of the war? Do you think how we live today would be any different?

I have very mixed feelings on the matter. The atomic bomb did put a complete halt to the war. But I wonder, could we have found another way to end the war? Would we still have to worry about the chances of a nuclear war? I guess when it comes to war we should expect to lose lives and I know the US probably did it to save lives at the same time. If we had not used it, the war would probably have lasted longer and in the long run we would have lost more lives. So, I suppose it was the right decision. If it had not been the US to discover the atomic bomb then it would have been someone else. Actually, Germany was coming up with a bomb at around the same time with similar effects as the atomic bomb.

Anyway, what are your opinions on this?

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HibikiLink

I belive that it was a bad thing, cause it was an attack that took out thousands of innocent people who had nothing to do with the war. I mean Japan did make the first move by attacking pearl harbour and granted they took plent aswell but those us soldiers are trained for this and need to expect death when war is occuring. America I guess wanted to end it in one straight hit showing they are a force to be reconed with. Had they not dropped the bomb the war could have continued on for much longer effecting relations today. I can't think of anything more to say

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Alec

I don't think the atomic bomb should have been used to end WWII. The people the U.S. threw the bomb on were still debating on surrender. I think the bomb was only used to prove the U.S. was a superpower and the president at the time had an ichy trigger finger. (Sorry if I offend anyone). If they didn't used the bomb, yes maybe more people would have been killed. But because they did, more people, including thousands of civilians were killed.

Not sure how people would live if the bomb was never used. I know I wouldn't feel angry.

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Innerhell

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Priestess Angel

Yes, I know what you all mean. It just doesn't seem right that they used that method to end the war. It just isn't right to involve civilians in a war.

One of my teachers told me that they sent airplanes to drop messages that said in Japanese that they were going to drop the bomb and that they needed to evacuate the area.

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Mr. K

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Alec

good point, K. Even if the bomb was never used, there would still be a chance later on.

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jaam0927

for me..... I would have dropped it....
here is a little backgorund..... US got deeper and deeper in Japans territory they saw that Japan wouldnt surrender, under any conditions..... japanese soldiers were given specific orders: "defend your position with your life", plus japanese citizens were told that american soldiers did brutal things in the towns they captured... so a long term war against japan wouldnt mean only defeating the army... but in the tonws the citizens, which would have costed thousands of lifes....
the basic idea was to show Japan what would an Atomic bomb do... but they realiced that Japan wouldn surrender so there was no choice left that to use it....
I guess I would have use it... I would prefer to drop the bomb, even if the world later hated me, than to see thousands of my fellow country men dead and know I could have prevented that....

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animaniac4life

yes, i think that i would have dropped the bomb if it was necessary.

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LittleHobbit13

Ah yes, but then the question becomes "was it actually necessary?"

I hate the idea of us dropping those bombs, especially since they apparently almost cheated me out of my wonderful Japanese professor, who lived in the city they were trying to bomb (even though they missed both times).

I don't believe that wars should ever involve citizens in the way those bombs involved them. When you watch movies like Grave of the Fireflies and Barefoot Gen, you see just how bad the after effects were. My own personal opinion is that the US used the bombs to show off our potential power. I mean, the southern half of the Shikoku region is almost uninhabitied. If they had to drop it, why didn't they pick a less populated area? Japan may be crowded, but there are plenty of very rural areas.

The A-bomb was a mistake, and should never have been used.

Also: That's not a good reason, and there's always another opinion.

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jaam0927

I mean that the idea was to take some Japanese officials to an Atomic bomb test in a deserted area... and with that the japanese would get scared and surrender(in fact for me that was a really good idea, I dont know why didnt they use that)
and for the citizens... until what point should the citizenst be let out of the war..... in some towns after the japanese army have retreated..... the citizens still kept fighting.....

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