Summary: The First Atomic Weapon

Throughout history very few events have bore the weight of the decision to deploy the first atomic weapons. Historians have placed the decision along racial, political, and tactical lines, while the reasons for the use of atomic weapons are still debated, the lasting effects of this event are just as important. Currently there are nine countries that possess the capability to deploy nuclear weapons; countries like North Korea and Iran are currently conducting limited research to development nuclear weapons. While the bomb was herald as the tool that ended World War II, the legacy of the first Atomic bomb brought American into the Atomic age, and into a weapons race with Russia. The decision to use an atomic weapon against Japan was based on numerous factors. While there are many arguments that pose a racist, or Russian reason behind deploying this type of weapon, there are authors that lay the decision squarely on defeating Japan in the Pacific theatre. There are those that say the weapon was used on Japan, as the German Americans and Europeans wouldn’t have stood for using such a weapon on European soil, but the truth (if only looking at the facts) is that Japan was the only country still fighting once the weapon had been fully developed.
Numerous countries now maintain arsenals of nuclear weapons to deter attacks from other nuclear-armed countries. The development, advancement, and counter-measures associated with the nuclear inventory peaked during the last years of the Cold War, and have since then been maintained. Numerous satellite allies of the Soviets, and the United States acquired Nuclear weapons to deter attacks from other countries aligned with their enemies. This is where we see the most likelihood of a nuclear/atomic exchange of weapons playing out, contested areas like the one found between Indian, and Pakistan.