In Our Name
Hiroshima victim
Sixty years ago today, the United States dropped an atom bomb on the town of Hiroshima, Japan- killing more than 140,000 people, most of them instantly. Only 1% of those killed were soldiers. Survivors say that the victims were vaporized, charred or left with flesh dangling from their bodies, bones exposed. Some of those who survived died later of radiation sickness and recurring cancer. Not only did we incinerate thousands of Japanese civilians, we left them with a disease that still exists to this day- cancer.
Child's lunchbox from Hiroshima
Today, hundreds of doves were released in Hiroshima at the Peace Memorial Park before thousands of people. At 8:15 a.m., when the bomb detonated on August 6, 1945 -- the crowd fell silent out of respect for those who were killed 60 years ago. At this ceremony, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed to "take the lead in the international community to promote ... nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation and do our best to abolish nuclear weapons."
Tricycle from Hiroshima
On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped another atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing at least 66,000 people. Protesters here in America, disrupted Bush's 50th vacation in 5 years at his Crawford ranch, to protest nuclear armament. One of the protestors was an 87 year old survivor of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atom bombs. Bush was too busy clearing a nature path to speak with him.
No worries, we now have a calm, collected, diplomatic ambassador at the UN. God Bless America- and no place else!
posted by Lisa @ 5:43 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I guess that degree in poli-sci didn't include any history. Military analysts have determined that the bombs cut two years off the war, saved about a half million American soldiers, and an estimated five million Japanese soldiers and civilians. One has to keep in mind that Japan's emperor was considered a god, and that defending the country to the last man, woman, and child was both a religious and nationalistic imperative. Their mind set was not unlike what we're seeing with Islamic extremists today, willing to commit suicide to kill the enemy or anyone associated with them. Of course, we can always leave out Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Death March, or what Japan did to China and Korea. Its one thing to be against the current administration, but another entirely to be anti-american. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears you have as much a problem with America as you do with Bush.
Yes you are wrong. The popular myth that the two bombs saved lives rather than killed about half a million civilians is completely false. However one can site many revsionist histories which make that claim. The idea itself is self contradicting: if Japan was ready to fight to the last man (or soldier), then why didn't they do that even after the bombs were dropped? And remember the US fire bombed Tokyo earlier that year which had the same effect as the A-bomb without the radiation. Japan was ready to surrender but we had to try out our new weapons on them first. Now if you think that it's inhuman to think that we would do such a thing with no military reason - you are fogeting that it was done to our own soldiers after the war also, the government had to admit to it in a class action suit brought by the soliders who were used like lab animals in above ground nuclear tests. Another thing to remember is that the US Japan part of the war was all about oil.
My kingdom for anyone that actually studies history from anything other than a Marxist perspective! Just kidding. You've made my point. The reason the Japanese gave up was their emperor, their 'god', told them to. Matter of fact, was watching a history program that revealed that several officers in the Japanese army were planning a coup to overthrow the emperor, simply because he was going to surrender after the two 'A' bombs were dropped. Their Samurai perspective was that suicide, 'hari kari' if you will, was preferable to surrender and the commensurate loss of honor or 'face'. Japan was in fact not ready to surrender. The whole populace was brought up with a history of no defeat in war, and a culture of no surrender, no matter the cost. The psychological impact of surrender was overwhelming to the whole country. They never dreamed, nor were they informed that defeat was a possibility, much less a looming eventuality. Again, its never any of the bad things, past or present that other countries have done. Its always the bad ol' USA. No rebuttal or comment concerning Japan's treatment of China or Korea. Again, we go back to oil. How come the Iraq is not letting the U.S. 'own' any of this oil we're supposedly fighting for? Read what they're putting in their constitution. No oil for us, buddy!
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