In the days that followed Sept. 11, 2001, most people agreed that the United States had been the victim of a “terrorist” attack; after all, 3,000 innocent civilians had been targeted and murdered for political objectives.
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, and three days later dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki, causing the deaths of 120,000 people, mostly innocent civilians. Today, few Americans would label the two bombings “terrorist” attacks.
Pat Buchanan disagrees. “Truman’s defenders argue that by using the bomb, he saved more lives than were lost in those cities. Only the atom bombs, they contend, could have shocked Japan’s warlords into surrender,” Buchanan says. “But if terrorism is the massacre of innocents to break the will of rulers, were not Hiroshima and Nagasaki terrorism on a colossal scale?”
Buchanan raises a valid question: What is the definition of terrorism?
2 Comments
As much as I like and agree with Pat Buchanan, I have to take a different tact here. The Japanese were not going to go out peacefully. Their military theocracy taught entrance to paradise through offering your life in defense of the state same as the kids believed their Muslim mullahs when they handed them a little plastic key and told them to go find landmines.
I see Pat’s perspective here but believe dropping the bombs honestly saved a great many American lives and forced a facist regime with little regard for much of what we hold dear into total surrender.
I think Pat goes too far to call it an act of terrorism. Respectfully.
WASP,
I think that everything you said was right, with the exception of your last sentence. I think that Jack is spot on when he calls us dropping bombs a “act of terrorism.” He goes on to present a very sound argument to support his assertion.
I think that our perception of “Good (us) vs. Evil (them)” helps us marginalize the atrocities that our country has committed. It leaves us with one question “How many innocent lives can we take until it becomes unjustifiable?”
I believe that intentionally killing innocents, even one person, is never justifiable. Truman and yourself do not share that belief.