PrintAugust 16, 2005
No more self-flagellation on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Now that our annual self—flagellation over Hiroshima and Nagasaki is over, we Americans owe it to ourselves to look back at the wartime events leading up to the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan. For 60 years, opponents of President Truman's decision to use atomic weapons have sustained a steady drum beat of criticism in the unassailable forums of America's newsrooms and college classrooms. Their second—guessing has led to a gradual erosion of America's perceived moral superiority over our enemies as well as negative repercussions for our present conflicts on the world stage—much to the delight of our adversaries.
The debate over Hiroshima has its roots in the remorse expressed by several prominent Americans—including atomic bomb—designer Robert Oppenheimer and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower—and has gained momentum with recent claims that Japan was already on the verge of surrender when the bombs were dropped. If we continue down the current path of...(Read Full Article)
