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There are many reasons that the Atomic bomb was used on Japan. There are many that criticize the bombing, but I support it. The main reasons for President Harry Truman decided to drop the bomb were, to save lives (American Lives), to bring about a quicker resolution to the war, and to send a message to the world that we now had military supremacy. Growing up in a military family, (with a dad a Vietnam vet, and a grandfather who would have fought in Japan if we had invaded), may have biased my personal opinions, but in my mind it is all a matter of numbers when it comes to war. War is a matter of how many lives each side has to waste, and who runs low first generally surrenders.
War is hate by it's own nature. It is a hate that reaches to the core of every citizen, of each side, at some level. I do not believe the bomb was dropped in hate, but in a step toward peace, saving perhaps more lives, than the bombs killed. When looking at the Japanese, I agree with Fussell, on his ideas that the Japanese citizens were going to continue to fight for their side, even when the ranks of their army had been depleted. At this we see Fussell reference images of children and women with bamboo spears fighting our troops, which very well could have been a reality, but possibly more horrific with perhaps suicide bombings as seen in other later wars.
The honor these people feel for their country and heritage drives them so much. To give up, and especially giving up the emperor, would have been turning their back on their culture, and this dishonor they could not stand for. They had the belief in them that they were right and their own hate fueled them enough to be admirable fighters. A culture with beliefs such as Hare-Kari, (the precursor to kamikaze) and high values of honor, they were not simply going to give up.
The fighting would have continued, and many more troops would have lost their lives. The bomb was dropped to save lives, American lives and Japanese. People say that the Japanese were getting ready to surrender, but the bomb sped up the process. Time was of the essence, "Allied casualties were running over 7, 000 a week, " (Fussell 18), and Japanese casualty rates were even higher. The bomb's mass destruction left the Japanese with no other choices.
A surrender was on the way, but who knows how far away that was, and how many lives would have paved the way. Harry Truman decided for life, maybe not for the Japanese, but for his own soldiers. Some people argue it saved only American lives, not Japanese lives. At this point to those quick to criticize, I must say the bomb kept my grandfather's platoon from having to invade, which is why I agree with Truman's decision. The bomb also saved Japanese lives in the long run, because many more would have died in an invasion battle. The bomb and it's mass destruction was such a force that the Japanese could not match, it made the Japanese feel, "that they could withdraw from the war without dishonor, " (Fussell 21), which made way for a surrender.
Dropping the bomb also sent a message to the rest of the world. It was the benchmark of our military supremacy. With Russia frantically trying to develop their own Atomic bomb, and preparing possibly to invade Japan, we let it be known clear that we had the upper hand. Had the bomb not been dropped on Japan, it would have only been dropped somewhere else in the near future. Had it not been dropped who knows how the cold war and arms race could have turned out, and where it would have started. Before people would be afraid of the bomb, they would have to see it's destructive force.
Later wars may have turned out very differently. The Cuban Missile Crisis could have been a more violent an episode. Once the bomb had been made it was going to be dropped, it was going to be used, the message had to be sent. It is a message that ended a war, and started another. In conclusion I support the decision of President Harry S. Truman of using the Atomic Bomb.
One of the main reasons for dropping the bomb was to save the lives of the many soldiers who would have died and became statistics, like my grandfather. Another reason was to bring about a quicker resolution to the war, to bring peace faster, by showing the Japanese our superior weaponry, which they could not match. A final reason we dropped the bomb was to win the urban-proverbial pissing contest. It sent a message to the world that we now had a military might of a new unseen kind. This would lead to years of tension between world super powers. The dropping of the bomb started the pissing-contest that would result in an absurd race for destructive power, but a race we could not escape.
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