Military or Psychological Target?
[The] Killing civilians was the primary purpose of the Hiroshima bombing.[1]
Although Hiroshima contained some military-related industrial facilities—an army headquarters and
troop-loading docks—the vibrant city of over a quarter of a million men, women
and children was hardly “a military base.” Indeed, less than 10 percent of the
individuals killed on Aug. 6, 1945, were Japanese military personnel.
Two committees—the Target Committee and the Interim Committee—were convened to advise U.S. leaders on the atomic bomb. The prioritization of maximizing the bomb’s psychological impact on the Japanese population and leadership is the common thread that binds the recommendations of the two committees. The Target Committee ultimately advised leadership “to neglect location of [military] industrial areas as pin point target, since … such areas are small, spread on fringes of cities and quite dispersed” and instead “to place first gadget in center of selected city.” Mindful of norms against the intentional killing of civilians, the Interim Committee headed by Stimson instead “recommended that … [the bomb] should be used on a dual target, that is, a military installation or war plant surrounded by or adjacent to homes or other buildings most susceptible to damage.”
It is neither my job nor intention to justify the actions which bought to a close the bloodiest conflict in human history. Trust me no one leave war blameless and unscathed – our nation did those things which occur in battle. Only the almighty has it within his/her/it’s wheelhouse to make a determination as to the events of that or any other day for that matter. The information which I’ve copied and pasted in this document come primarily from an analysis of data by lawfaremedia.org in conjunction with the Brookings Institute (Think tank). I’m rather certain they’re aware of the Allied Military Campaign across the Pacific. The projected casualty estimates vary:
'[T]he bombing saved an estimated 5-10 million Japanese civilians and 400,000-800,000 American soldiers who could have died in an invasion and was therefore “the lesser of two evils.”' - John C. Hopkins (Los Alamos laboratory).[2]
I deliberately chose the highball estimate for a reason. Soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army committed more individual war crimes[3] (purportedly) than soldiers of the German Third Reich. Most European/American citizens are taught the history of WW II from a particularly western perspective and only touches of the Pacific Campaign. Only reason I knew a little about it where two uncles who served during Korea. My uncle Franklin told us that the Japanese had been ordered to defend the nation with spears to the last man and jump off cliffs[4] into the Ocean instead of being captured. Considering the Battle of Okinawa there might be some validity in the claim that the home islands would be more costly than using “the Bomb.”
I’m not justifying nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are a political weapon, they cannot be used without horrendous ramifications. Open air test treaties are for a reason. Nuclear weapons proliferation bans (ex.: NPT) are purposeful. The phrase “Mutually Assured Destruction” (MAD) is actually deadly meaningful. An exchange of strategic nuclear weapons might sterilize the entire planet of large organic lifeforms. Even a limited exchange of devices would have untold consequences (think global crop failure, etc., etc.) upon the survivors of the fallout winter which would necessarily ensue.
Nope, not a fan of nuclear weapons.[5],
[6]
I do, however, believe Allied leaders (Harry S Truman)[7] seeking
to end years of terrible bloodshed too readily sought to use their new “ultimate
weapon” thus ending World War II. Despite subsequent weapon development and testing
(with their radiological consequences) the longitudinal studies of the Japanese
Hibakusha
[1] McKinney, K., Sagan, S. D., & Weiner, A. S. (2020, August 4). Hiroshima and the Myths of Military Targets and Unconditional Surrender. Article | LAWFARE; Published by The Lawfare Institute in Cooperation with Brookings. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/hiroshima-and-myths-military-targets-and-unconditional-surrender
[2] Hopkins, J. C. (2020, August 5). Opinion | The Atomic Bomb Saved Millions—Including Japanese. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-atomic-bomb-saved-millionsincluding-japanese-11596663957
[3] Budanovic, N. (2018, January 24). “Just” 10 Japanese Atrocities From World War II. WAR HISTORY ONLINE. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/history/japanese-atrocities-from-wwii.html
[4] Qiu, T. (2021, August 5). The Japanese Civilian Tragedy of the Pacific War. Pacific Atrocities Education. https://www.pacificatrocities.org/blog/the-japanese-civilian-tragedy-of-the-pacific-war
[5] DiCarlo, A. L., Maher, C., Hick, J. L., Hanfling, D., Dainiak, N., Chao, N., Bader, J. L., Coleman, C. N., & Weinstock, D. M. (2011). Radiation Injury After a Nuclear Detonation: Medical Consequences and the Need for Scarce Resources Allocation. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 5(S1), S32–S44. https://doi.org/10.1001/dmp.2011.17
[6] National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), Emergency Management, Radiation, and Chemical Branch. (2019, April 22). CDC Radiation Emergencies | Frequently Asked Questions About a Nuclear Blast. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/emergencies/nuclearfaq.htm
[7] Truman, H. S. (1945, August 9). Radio report to the American people on the Potsdam Conference | Harry S. Truman. www.trumanlibrary.gov; Columbia Broadcasting System. https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/soundrecording-records/sr61-37-radio-report-american-people-potsdam-conference
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