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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
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 Tue Aug 09, 2005 9:18 am Nagasaki Remembers Atomic Attack |
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| Quote: | BBC NEWS
Nagasaki remembers atomic attack
The Japanese city of Nagasaki has marked the 60th anniversary of its destruction by a US atomic bomb at the end of World War II.
At least 70,000 people died in the world's second nuclear attack.
A minute's silence was marked at the city's peace park, where survivors tearfully recalled the bombing.
Correspondents say there is fresh controversy over why the attack happened just three days after the bombing of the city of Hiroshima.
Some historians argue that the attack was seen as necessary because Japan had not surrendered.
But others believe that the attack enabled the American military to try out plutonium as a nuclear weapon.
A peace bell rang out as the city marked the exact moment 60 years ago when a US plane dropped the bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" for its rotund shape.
Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took part in the official commemoration, which also saw a memorial Mass in the city's Catholic cathedral.
"This is an occasion to remember the victims, and pray for world peace," he said.
NAGASAKI ATTACK
World's first plutonium bombing
Bomb named 'Fat Man' because of rotund shape
Killed 70,000 people outright. City says death toll has now risen to 140,000
Bomb originally destined for city of Kokura, but US plane diverted due to thick cloud
A 74-year-old survivor spoke of her resolve to continue working for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Nagasaki mayor Iccho Ito asked US citizens whether their security was enhanced by their nuclear arsenal.
"We understand your anger and anxiety over the memories of horror of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Yet, is your security actually enhanced by your government's policies of maintaining 10,000 nuclear weapons, of carrying out repeated sub-critical nuclear tests, and of pursuing the development of new 'mini' nuclear weapons?" he said.
Mr Ito appealed to them to join hands with others to work together for a peaceful planet free from the threat of the nuclear bomb.
"We are confident that the vast majority of you desire in your hearts the elimination of nuclear arms," he said.
Overshadowed
Nagasaki's citizens still question whether the Americans were justified in targeting their city for the second atomic attack.
The bomb used plutonium as its core - unlike the one dropped on Hiroshima, which used uranium.
Nagasaki's mayor says he believes they were the victims of what in effect was a deadly nuclear test.
The bomb dropped on Nagasaki exploded with a force equivalent to 21,000 tons of conventional explosive.
Most of those killed in the second attack were melted or burnt to death immediately.
The official death toll is about 70,000 people killed in the immediate aftermath of the bombing, and a further 70,000 who have died of radiation-related illnesses since.
However, correspondents say that Nagasaki's plight has long been overshadowed by that of Hiroshima, where about 140,000 people were killed in the immediate aftermath, and 240,000 are now considered to have died because of the bombing.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4133572.stm
Published: 2005/08/09 07:36:07 GMT
� BBC MMV
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IntrepidIsMe
Pimp Handed
Joined: 14 Jun 2002
Posts: 13057
Location: New York
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| Tue Aug 09, 2005 6:28 pm |
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Yeah, they've had a lot of stuff on the History and Discovery channels about this. Very sad, listening to civilians talk about it, especially since they were children at the time.
-------signature-------
"Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being."
-Wuthering Heights
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Dirt
Exercise Boy
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 2086
Location: a tree
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| Wed Aug 10, 2005 4:13 am |
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Pft, you were all in favour of it's use Aaron 
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Starbuck
faster...
Joined: 19 Feb 2003
Posts: 8715
Location: between chaos and melody
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| Wed Aug 10, 2005 4:56 am |
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"...The Japanese were ready to surender, there was no need to drop that awful thing on them." -- Eisenhower
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Kyle Reese
Cadet Gunnery Sergeant
Joined: 21 Apr 2003
Posts: 5672
Location: The United States of America
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| Wed Aug 10, 2005 5:02 am |
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More like they were ready to fight to the last man. I think it was best to use it.
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webtaz99
Commodore
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Posts: 1229
Location: The Other Side
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| Wed Aug 10, 2005 1:01 pm |
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I think we should have evacuated and nuked one the offshore islands we had already occupied. It would have provided the same political results, but the US military wanted a full-scale field test of their new toy.
-------signature-------
"History is made at night! Character is who you are in the dark." (Lord John Whorfin)
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LightningBoy
Commodore
Joined: 09 Mar 2003
Posts: 1446
Location: Minnesota, U.S.A.
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| Wed Aug 10, 2005 1:15 pm |
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| Starbuck wrote: | | "...The Japanese were ready to surender, there was no need to drop that awful thing on them." -- Eisenhower |
Well, that's pretty much bunk. I don't know that Eisenhower actually said that, but if he did, it was a stupid thing to say.
They didn't surrendur after they knew we were ready to use it. They didn't surrendur after we used the first one. That kept kfighting... It was their descision, they screwed up. It's funny how people forget the fact that the japanese were testing Anthrax and other early WMD on their neighbors, killing an estimated 35 million Chinese and Koreans... Yeah... We're supposed to feel REALLY sorry for them.  Not me, they fought visciously.
Without that bomb, it's estimated that an invasion of Japan would've taken upward of a million lives. Weight that against the roughly 150,000 which gained their surrendur.
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Hitchhiker
Rear Admiral
Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Wed Aug 10, 2005 3:15 pm |
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| LightningBoy wrote: | | They didn't surrendur after they knew we were ready to use it. They didn't surrendur after we used the first one. That kept kfighting... It was their descision, they screwed up. |
It was the military's decision, the government's decision, not the people's decision. Maybe they weren't too fond of America. But they were human beings, just like you and me, and no one deserves the devastation that was unleashed. Not only the instantaneous effect, but the lingering radiation that's caused pain and suffering for the better part of a century.
| LightningBoy wrote: | | Without that bomb, it's estimated that an invasion of Japan would've taken upward of a million lives. Weight that against the roughly 150,000 which gained their surrendur. |
I know this sounds quite stupid, but I'm going to say it anyway: one life is just as vaulable as 100, 150 000, or a million. Human beings aren't statistics, as much as the bureaucracy would like us to believe.
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Founder
Dominion Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 12755
Location: Gamma Quadrant
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| Thu Aug 11, 2005 6:17 pm |
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| Starbuck wrote: | | "...The Japanese were ready to surender, there was no need to drop that awful thing on them." -- Eisenhower |
Considering the fact that, that isn't true. The quote is pretty much void. They were far from ready to surrender.
| Quote: | | "This is an occasion to remember the victims, and pray for world peace," he said. |
Nicely said....
One day we wont need these weapons....
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Zeke Zabertini
Captain
Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 4832
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| Thu Aug 11, 2005 10:28 pm |
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The Japanese Empire in the second world war was utterly ruthless. I don't have much sympathy for their leaders. I don't know if the second atomic bomb saved lives or ended them, but at this point it is irrelevant. My personal opinion on the decision aside, the event was still a human tragedy. It is always regrettable when civilians die in war, necessary or not.
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