Many people say that the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima was unjustified because the U.S. targeted …show more content…
It did not matter whether the target was military or civilian areas as long as the site where the bombs were dropped was exactly or more than 3 miles in diameter or gave America a strategic advantage. Another reason why the attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was unjustified is because of the U.S.’ plan that deliberately killed thousands of innocent people. Prior to the attack, Colonel Fisher commented,“[The] Ultimate range of the B-29s is 1500 miles at 30,000 feet altitude” (Notes on Initial Meeting of Target Committee, May 2, 1945). The group of individuals that planned the attack calculated the ideal altitude for the bombs to be dropped to achieve maximum destruction. Furthermore, not everyone involved in the attack agreed to the plan. One example is, “Admiral William Leahy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, oppose[ed] using the bomb because it killed civilians indiscriminately” (American History Textbook, American Vision, pg. 615). The attack led to the unnecessary death of thousands upon thousands of Japanese civilian. President Truman later wrote that he “regarded the bomb as a military weapon and never had any doubts that it should be used.” His advisers had warned him to expect massive casualties if the United States invaded Japan. Truman believed it was his duty as president to use every weapon available to save American lives (American History Textbook, American Vision, pg. 615). President Truman, the Commander in Chief, was well aware of the consequences of using the atomic bombs, however, he still initiated the attack which inevitably caused the deaths of nearly 200,000 Japanese civilians (Stanford History Education Group. Reading Like a Historian “6. Atomic Bomb.”). This statement brings the attention back to the idea that the bombings to both cities of Japan were