Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and What Really Stopped Japan


On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima. Three days later, on August 9, 1945, they did the same to Nagasaki. The atomic bombings marked the first and, thus far, the only time that nuclear weapons have been used in armed conflict. Between 129 000 and 226 000 people were killed, most of whom were civilians.

It is commonly believed that these bombings forced Japan to surrender, with some proponents of this oft-repeated narrative (which contains many inaccuracies and myths) going as far as to claim that it was necessary. Contrary to that commonly held belief, it was most likely the very real possibility of a Soviet offensive taking place on the Japanese mainland, which would mean a direct confrontation with Soviet forces, that pushed Japanese leaders to surrender. And so, it was really the military genius of Stalin that helped stopped Imperial Japan -- not the atomic bombs.

"..."[Y]ou can’t analyze Japan’s decision to surrender objectively in the context of the story of the [Atomic] Bomb. Casting it as “the story of the Bomb” already presumes that the Bomb’s role is central."

Read more here (highly recommended): https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/05/30/the-bomb-didnt-beat-japan-stalin-did/#sthash.CI8uH5Vr.dpuf

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Delta-COVID Fourth Wave Survival Guide (for Canadians)

Image
  Generally speaking, things are not going so well; and so we might as well prepare for survival. Here is a list of things that you could do. Suggestions are welcome, and more may be added later. 1. Get both doses of the vaccine AND continue wearing the masks regardless  of vaccination status.   The pandemic isn't over yet and the virus is still circulating, and it's not over until we've actually stopped it from circulating at such an astronomical rate. And like it or not, fully vaccinated people are still, figuratively speaking, inside "the eye of the storm" as much as the unvaccinated are; 'pandemic' means prevalent over a whole country and/or the world. COVID-19 has not even reached endemic levels. I don't think I need to explain why vaccines are great preventative measures, that should already be a given. Yes, of course the vaccines are still extremely helpful, very useful, and lifesaving; but it doesn't necessarily mean they will 100% stop yo
Read more

U.S. Imperialism is the reason for the Taliban's recent successes in Afghanistan

Image
  The original, cringe-worthy dedication title card of Rambo III , before being edited out in subsequent post-9/11 DVD copies and television airings. The Taliban were one of the groups that sprang from the U.S.-created and U.S.-backed Mujahideen, who were made with the ultimate goal in mind of destroying the Soviet Union. The United States saw an opportunity for its anti-communist goals in the exiled, ousted, reactionary, neo-feudalist landowning class who were willing to betray their country, to undo all the revolutionary gains and progress (which included women's emancipation) made by the popular socialist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, and to bring the country back to what is essentially the stone ages. While the United States does not necessarily preach Wahhabist or Salafist ideology itself, they were very useful tools, due to their highly sectarian nature, in countering the progressive anti-imperialist forces -- whom they saw as foils and bitter 'archenemies
Read more

The Paradox of ‘Anti-War’ Capitalism: Peace Movements, Disarmament, and the War in Ukraine (excerpt)

Image
  Throughout the duration of the Russia-Ukraine War, the poverty of real Marxist analysis is very apparent in some  very confused sections of the left [1] (as well as those who are purportedly left, but are clearly aligned with right-wing forces) who have committed themselves to either being apologists for Russia’s aggression and to championing multipolar capitalism, or cheerleading for the NATO-led alliance with the desire to draw out the conflict for as long as possible. They refuse to see the war as an inter-imperialist conflict, with U.S. imperialism competing with Russian imperialism over who gets to keep Ukraine as a colony, and who gets to have a puppet government that will be friendly to their respective bourgeois interests. But perhaps one of the most curious aspects of these Western “anti-war” movements is how quick they are to  call for the United States, Canada, the UK, and other U.S.-aligned countries to disarm [2]; as well as being quick to claim that these particular cou
Read more