Why Is The Atomic Bomb Necessary

During World War II, Former President Harry S. Truman ordered a new form of attack on Japan, thinking that an invasion would result in many American casualties; as a result, the atomic bomb was later dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This attack on Japan would later become one of the most controversial attacks in history, many saying that the atomic weapon was not necessary. The dropping of said bomb has different views depending on the perspective one is looking from; whether it be political, ethical, or from a military perspective, the atomic attack is very controversial. From the political perspective, the atomic bomb was seen as a way to get control over Japan. At the time the atomic bomb was a new technology that many nations did not have access to; however, as the United States did have access they used it to their advantaged and gained control over Japan. Though, since the atomic bomb was so new, it was feared. As seen in a letter to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt from the secretary of navy, “It is not a question, however, of whether an Army or a Navy man is picked – it is far too
important a matter and bears too heavily on the loss of American live…” (Forrestal). It is seen that the matter of choosing who to drop the bomb was not clear; the decision was weighed heavily on by navy and army men. In Japan, however, the Prime Minister, Tōjō Hideki, was sending his regards to his people about the attacks. He felt as if the political side of Japan was beginning to deteriorate. In his letter he states, “I have carefully listened to the opposition, but my idea has little changed from what I told before… I conclude that it is impossible for us to continue the war anymore.” Here the Prime Minister of Japan shows just how eroded the Japanese economy was at the time; as a matter of fact, the Japanese could not continue the war because of what the United States has done. When viewing the attacks on the Japanese as ethical, one could argue that it was not necessary and it was overkill. The United States took precautions when attacking the targeted Japanese cities. Days or weeks before the attacks, the United States dropped pamphlets on the targeted cities to warm innocent civilians. As seen on Damninteresting.com, the pamphlets stated, “Read this carefully as it may save your life or the life of a relative or friend. In the next few days, some or all of the cities named on the reverse side will be destroyed by American bombs.” As seen on the pamphlets, The United States did not want to take any unnecessary lives when attacking the cities; as a matter of fact, the country wanted to preserve the innocent lives of Japanese citizens. As for a military perspective, the atomic bomb was the perfect weapon.
It allowed for countries to take out other countries without putting American soldiers at risk; this way, American casualties were minimized by not putting them in the line of fire. As stated in a memorandum to the secretary of war, “The main-point of this memorandum is the predominating importance of considering the use of nuclear bombs as a problem of long-range policy rather than for its military advantage in this war. Their use should thus be directed primarily toward bringing about some international control of the means of nuclear warfare” (Compton). Here is a perfect example at how the United States could use the nuclear weapon for a variety of usages. It was used a method of control in the military. By using the atomic weapon control could be gained from the opposing country through
fear. The atomic weapon had many different views and was very controversial for many different reasons. The atomic bomb from a political perspective gave an advantage to war and allowed the country to advance further and faster than opposing sides. From an ethical perspective it was not necessary and could have been avoided; however, it did provide with the upper hand in weakening the country. Finally from a military perspective it was the perfect weapon and allowed for a variety of military tactics; from control to a long range weapon, it could have been used for many purposes that did not always involve attacking head on. The atomic attack on Japan will forever remain controversial, but there are some of the different views from the attack.