My school's last debate team topic was whether or not is was necessary to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. So, was it necessary? Discuss.

I'm not sure how I feel about nuclear weapons. It's a tough thing to argue over. They definately shouldn't be in the wrong hands, like Iran and North Korea. As far has bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Well, put yourself in Eisenhower's position. 1.) Use nuclear bombs 2.) Do a ground invasion. There were already sooo many US lives lost I would probably have gone with the bombs. I know lots of Japanese people died, but think of it this way. A lot of US troops AND Japanese people would have died with a ground invasion, whereas with the bombs not many US troops die. I know that may sound selfish, but with the bombs less people lose their lives. Still though, I like the quote from Einstein when talking about the atom bombs- "Had I known what this technology would be used for, I would have rather have been a watchmaker."

Yea, but i was thinking that Eisenhower was still the Supreme Allied Commander. Lighten up.

[b]cookiedough28 wrote:[/b] [quote]My school's last debate team topic was whether or not is was necessary to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. So, was it necessary? Discuss.[/quote] Look at it this way, like 9/11 innocent lives were purposely taken but in this case in epic proportion.There is no excuse that can justify such a horrific act.

[b]Chantillon wrote:[/b] [quote][b]cookiedough28 wrote:[/b] [quote]My school's last debate team topic was whether or not is was necessary to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. So, was it necessary? Discuss.[/quote] Look at it this way, like 9/11 innocent lives were purposely taken but in this case in epic proportion.There is no excuse that can justify such a horrific act.[/quote] I tend to agree. The full effects of this period in history took quite a while to be felt. Somewhere around 1/3 of the world hates Americans. This period in time we're talking about had a lot to do with it. Sure, we had long ago stolen the Panama Canal, but to this day, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the only examples of a country using nukes in war. It was also in the midst of WW2 that Allied forces invaded Iran, and installed a puppet government to be friendlier to the West. These two incidents are something many people hold against us to this day. I personally have to wonder how different the global political climate would be today if not for "Fat man" and "little boy."

In 1945 it was estimated that it would take 1,000,000 deaths to take Japan. This being compared to the a little over 100,000 that died from the atomic bombs it is obvious which caused more bloodshed and which was the obvious choice. Hope that helps.

Jeremey Bentham would be proud.