American imperialism and the atom bomb

[IndianaGreen]

This is the second of a 3-part series on the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Americans are too quick to dismiss the solemn commemorations of the atomic bombings that take place every year in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We shortchange ourselves by doing so, and we play into the government's hands by purposely closing our eyes and ears to the horrific effects of atomic weapons on people and on this planet. This is why we won't protest when someone like Bush asks Congress for money to build a new generation of atomic weapons that will be easier to use by anyone having no moral misgivings about using them, someone like Bush for example.

We have much to learn from the Japanese when it comes to atomic weapons!

Part one of the series can be found here:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/aug2005/hiro-a06.shtml

Sixty years since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings

Part two: American imperialism and the atom bomb

By Joseph Kay
8 August 2005

The destruction wreaked upon the populations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has long been justified by the American government on the grounds that it was necessary “to save American lives.” This rationale has not ceased to be the officially-sanctioned historical truth even though it has been thoroughly debunked by evidence that has come out over the past sixty years.

To cite one example, the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal wrote on August 5, 2005 that the bombs averted an invasion of the Japanese mainland, “for which the Truman Administration anticipated casualties of between 200,000 and one million.” Moreover, “a mainland invasion could have resulted in millions of Japanese deaths.” According to this calculus, the hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens, mainly civilians, who suffered an incompressible agony and death from the atom bomb were sacrificed in the interest of preserving as many lives as possible.

Even if one were to accept the premises of this argument, it would not mitigate the fundamental criminality—legal and moral—involved in the annihilation of these urban centers. However, the premises are entirely mythical. Not only have the estimated casualty figures been exaggerated <1>, but the main reasons for the US government’s decision to drop the bombs had nothing to do with avoiding an American invasion of Japan.

As with any great historical question, there were a number of different factors that went into the decision to drop the bomb, and it will be impossible to deal with all of them here. We will confine ourselves to touching on some of the basic issues and documents.

It is first of all necessary to note that the dropping of the atomic bombs on largely defenseless cities—which, while they held military headquarters or military-related industries, were predominantly civilian in character—had a certain continuity with the manner in which the United States was carrying out the war in the Pacific.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/aug2005/hiro-a08.shtml

[wli]

1. there's a three-tiered "economic hitman" response

1. send in negotiators to soft-sell
2. send in death squads to assassinate
3. send in the army to invade and overthrow the government

Nukes foil this. They give countries ways to retaliate to option 3.

[bpilgrim]

2. every american needs to read this

thanks for sharing :toast:

peace