The Moral Dilemma of Atomic Warfare
59 gunn
By the end of World War II, “more than 100 Japanese cities were destroyed by firebombing, and two by atomic bombing, causing one million casualties, including more than half a million deaths, the majority being civilians, particularly women and children.”1 The climax of these firebombings occurred when the United States of America dropped the most powerful weapons ever used in warfare on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At 08:15, August 6, 1945 the Enola Gay dropped the nuclear bomb called “Little Boy” over the center of Hiroshima. It exploded about 580 meters (1885 feet) above the city with a blast equivalent to 13 kilotons of TNT.2 Three days later, on the morning of August 9, 1945, the crew of the American B-29 Superfortress Bock’s Car, carrying the nuclear bomb nicknamed “Fat Man,” found its target over the city of Nagasaki. The bomb exploded 469 meters (1,540 feet) above the ground almost midway between the Mitsubishi Steel and Arms Works, in the south, and the MitsubishiUrakami Ordnance Works (Torpedo Works), in the north, the two principal targets of the city.3 The horrific destruction that resulted from these bomb blasts was unlike any that had ever been witnessed before. According to one source, “at the point of detonation the temperature probably reached several million degrees centigrade. Almost immediately a fireball was created from which were emitted radiation and heat rays, and severe shock waves were created by the blast.”4 On the ground, beneath the explosion center (hypocenter), the temperature rose to approximately 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat within 1 1/4 mile radius from the explosion center burned the clothes that people were wearing.5 The explosion generated an ultra high pressure. The wind velocity on the ground beneath the explosion center was 980 miles per hour, which is five times stronger than the wind generated by strong hurricanes. The pressure was equivalent to 8,600 pounds per square foot.6 In Hiroshima, an area of 5 square miles was reduced to ashes, and of the 76,000 buildings in the city 62.9% were destroyed and only 8% escaped damage.7 It is impossible to know the exact number of deaths that resulted from the explosions because people continued to die from the effects of radiation for several years after the attacks. Most estimates put the number of deaths by the end of 1945 at around 200,000 people. In addition to these deaths, many suffered severe health problems from radiation exposure. Birth defects, blindness, and immune system failures continued to affect the victims of the nuclear bombs.8 With all of this death and destruction, there can be no question as to the awesome power and destruction that was unleashed against Japan. The atomic bombs had indiscriminately killed babies, mothers, the elderly, the sick, and many other indefensible people. To many people, the actions of the United States were a moral abomination and totally unnecessary. To others, the nuclear attacks were necessary and morally justified. Who is right? The answer depends on how, and by whom, morality is defined. Nuclear warfare is nothing more than an extreme form of “total warfare” which has been practiced since as far back as the American Civil War. Yet there has been no world outcry against the practice of total war. In the final analysis, nuclear war cannot be condemned if total warfare in any form is morally justified. Many books, articles, and web sites address the moral issues of whether or not the atomic bombs should have been used. Some approach the subject as a “strategic justification” issue. In focusing on the strategic justification for using the atomic bombs, answers are
aegis 2006
Edward Gunn
