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Jared Robison Professor Jennifer Beno English Composition 102 28 April 2012 Nuclear Weapons August 6, 1945- the Enola Gay, an American Boeing B-29 Bomber, took off from Tinian, a small Pacific island approximately six hours flight time from Japan. When the plane neared hostile territory, Japanese radar detected its presence, triggering an immediate air raid warning. However, when further radar reports determined that the aircraft was accompanied by only two other B-29s, the air raid alert was lifted as the small formation of aircraft was probably indicative of reconnaissance. At 8:15 AM, the Enola Gay dropped merely one bomb- just one. Thousands of bombs had been dropped on Japanese territory, but this was different. This bomb would alter history, reinvent international policy, change destiny, and destroy lives. Forty-three seconds after release, the bomb known as Little Boy detonated over Hiroshima. Within seconds, the city was gone, along with 30% of its population. The first use of an atomic weapon in warfare had been witnessed by the world. This controversial utilization of nuclear tactics would spark debate, which continues to this day, about the justification of the Hiroshima bombing; the monitoring of nuclear weapons in the international community by the United States; and the morality of these weapons of mass destruction in general relative to America. This paper aims to demonstrate that release of atomic bombs over Japan was not only justified but required, and that the United States must necessarily possess these weapons, a necessary evil, amongst their military assets.

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First, what exactly is a nuclear weapon? A nuclear weapon gets its destructive power from the transformation of matter into energy and is a device designed to release energy in an explosive manner as a result of nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, or a combination of the two processes. The results of a nuclear weapons explosion are air blast, thermal radiation, initial radiation, and residual radiation/fallout; in the most powerful nuclear weapons, all these factors can combine to completely decimate an area of 1500 square miles and affect people and structures for hundreds of miles further (Nuclear Weapons; Encyclopaedia Britannica; Big Ivan, The Tsar Bomba). The history of nuclear weapons dates back to the beginning of World War II, when the Allied nations feared that the German Nazi regime might have the potential to create a weapon of mass destruction using the principles of fission. In 1942, the United States government initiated the top secret Manhattan Project in order to create the powerful atomic weapon before the Germans, and in 1943 the U.S. joined with Canada and Great Britain in the development of this armament (Manhattan Project). On July 16, 1945, the first nuclear weapon ever was successfully detonated in New Mexico under the approval of research leader J. Oppenheimer. (Widner, Thomas E). Since the advent of the atomic age on July 16, 1945, numerous questions have been posed which question the moral permissibility and necessity of nuclear weaponry/warfare. The most fundamental tenet of the nuclear opposition party is a relatively humanitarian one: atomic weapons are a highly destructive medium which have potential to kill thousands of innocent people and negatively influence geological/ecological systems. The United States should not have pursued its nuclear weapons program, much less bombed Nagasaki and Hiroshima; in addition, the nuclear program should have been abandoned at the conclusion of WWII. These

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opponents will also declare that the United States has the responsibility to lead the other nations of the world in the destruction of all nuclear warheads. There is an old Italian proverb which says attempt not to relive the past, but to address its consequences. Ultimately, the controversy surrounding the creation of the atomic bomb is a useless one- what has been done has been done. What if..? scenarios are the most fruitless conversations possible due to the fact that the past cannot be rewritten. We must seek to address the issues concerning nuclear warfare which face us now. However, since this response rarely satisfies critics, there are several reasons supporting Americas procuration and implementation of nuclear weaponry. To begin with, one must remember the reason for the initial interest in developing atomic weapons- WWII. Pacifists who rail against the existence of nuclear armaments too often forget that mankind is incapable of peace. Throughout the history of the world thousands of conflicts have been fought in response to greed, corruption, and societal failure. Due to the existence of inevitable violence, it is necessary for the United States, a nation built on freedom and independence, to protect itself and other peaceful nations from tyranny using whatever means necessary. At the commencement of World War II, Germany was clearly attempting to develop weapons of mass destruction. This country was run by a ruthless regime which denied humans their fundamental rights and desired to spread their beliefs across the world. The fusion of their ideals with the power to enforce them (atomic weapons) would have been disastrous for mankind. Hence, America needed to act. It was our duty, our calling, our responsibility to ensure that freedom be guaranteed for yet another generation.

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But should we have bombed Japan? The Japanese, prior to the bombing, had refused to surrender despite hints from President Truman of an impending apocalypse. Additionally, military estimates projected that thousands upon thousands of American as well as Japanese casualties would have ensued if the Allies attempted to invade Japan as opposed to bombing it. Some further estimates suggest that fewer Japanese died from the nuclear attack than would have died in a mainland invasion! True, the atomic drop produced shocking, cataclysmic results; however, it must be remembered that the point of war is to win as quickly as possible while sacrificing as few of your own soldiers as possible. Should the U.S. have abandoned/destroyed its nuclear program immediately following the conclusion of WWII? After the war, the Soviet Union, (which represented yet another cultural system of oppression and cruelty), began a massive, extensive nuclear technology program in order to obtain the bomb. They achieved this goal in only four years, and other nations were to follow. It would have been foolish, nave, and irresponsible of the United States to disarm their warheads when another nation under a tyrannical government was stockpiling! Should the United States lead a crusade against the current presence of nuclear weapons? Absolutely not- to do so would possibly invite further violence, particularly by terrorist organizations. If America were to decommission atomic armaments along with every other nation, there would be absolutely no way whatsoever to determine if all weaponry had truly been disposed of. Hence, while America became vulnerable, hostile groups (such as Al-Qaeda, or even one of our supposed allies such as Russia or Iran) might obtain illegal nuclear weapons and use them against us. In this scenario, the United States would be unable to appropriately respond and would face ruinous consequences. Now that the technology exists for atomic

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weapons, there is no way to ever completely dispose of it, so it should be developed and maintained in the interest of Americas citizens. Instead of eliminating all warheads, America and other responsible nations should monitor the global community to ensure that no threatening government obtains them. Both North Korea and Iran are openly pursuing weapons of mass destruction and have threatened to use nuclear missiles as soon as they obtain them. Countries like these, under penalty of annihilation, must cease all such operations. It is the duty of capable, peaceful nations such as the United States to preserve and promote freedom and independence, protecting the world from the grave threats of delusional leaders. Nuclear weapons are, ultimately, a necessary evil. A concept has been created, and can never be destroyed; in light of this fact, America has the responsibility to advance this concept in the interest of self-preservation and prevent the power of this concept from falling into the wrong hands. The unfortunate events at Nagasaki and Hiroshima were demanded by the severity of the situation and ushered in a new age of warfare. This warfare has not yet been resorted to since 1945 due to the fear of Americas power- to revoke this power would be utter foolishness. Let the people of the world hope and pray that this powers use never again be required.

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Works Cited "Big Ivan, The Tsar Bomba (King of Bombs)." The Soviet Weapons Program. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. "Manhattan Project." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopdia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. "Nuclear Weapon." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopdia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. "Nuclear Weapons." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. Widner, Thomas E, and Susan M Flack. "Characterization Of The World's First Nuclear Explosion, The Trinity Test, As A Source Of Public Radiation Exposure." Health Physics 98.3 (2010): 480-497. MEDLINE. Web. 28 Apr. 2012.