Hiroshima And Nagasaki Justified

At the end of the Second World War, a decision was made that would greatly affect the world for decades to come. That decision was to drop the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The nuclear detonation that took place on August 6th, 1945 sent shockwaves through the world: one country now had the power to destroy an entire city, with just one bomb. But was it a just weapon to use? Perhaps the United States could have used a different option to end the war? Dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War 2 was unjust because the U.S. did not exhaust it’s less violent options for ending the war, and because intentional attacks on noncombatants are never justified. Furthermore, the human suffering caused

There are treaties and international laws that classify killing non combatants as a war crime. The Hague Convention of 1907 declares that “The attack or bombardment, by whatever means, of towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings which are undefended is prohibited.” Religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism state that attacking non combatants is immoral. According to the catechism of the Catholic Church, “Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation.” Both Islam and Judaism have similar teachings about this subject. The Torah lays out its stance on attacking noncombatants in Deuteronomy 20:19-20, “When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees people, that you should besiege them?” The Quran says “Nor take life -- which Allah has made sacred -- except for just cause. And if anyone is slain wrongfully, we have given his heir authority (to demand retaliation or to forgive)....” Although Islam allows violent retaliation for an attack on civilian populations, Japan never attacked any major civilian centers in the United

According to most estimates, 90,000 to 146,000 people died in Hiroshima, and 40,000 to 80,000 in Nagasaki.”The least injured drag the more seriously wounded. There are wounded soldiers, and mothers carrying burned children in their arms.”these numbers count for both those who died in the bombings themselves, and who succumbed to radiation sickness in the following months and years. The vast majority of the people that died in the atomic bombings were civilians; many of them were women and children, some of them newborn babies, elderly people, and people who had nothing to do with the war