There was no military reason to drop atomic bombs on Japan. They were used as terrorist weapons - killing innocent people to influence other people.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Japan is the only country in the world to have suffered the ravages of atomic bombing. That experience left an indelible mark on the hearts of our people, making them passionately determined to renounce all wars.
Dropping those atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a war crime.
We had news this morning of another successful atomic bomb being dropped on Nagasaki. These two heavy blows have fallen in quick succession upon the Japanese and there will be quite a little space before we intend to drop another.
The decision to use the atom bomb on Japanese cities, and the consequent buildup of enormous nuclear arsenals, was made by governments, on the basis of political and military perceptions.
Killing Japanese didn't bother me very much at that time... I suppose if I had lost the war, I would have been tried as a war criminal.
Hiroshima has become a metaphor not just for nuclear war but for war and destruction and violence toward civilians. It's not just the idea we should not use nuclear arms. We should not start another war because it's madness.
Japan is the only country in the world which suffered from the scourge of nuclear weapons.
Some think the worst horrors of war might be avoided by an international agreement not to use atomic bombs. This is a vain hope.
The only use for an atomic bomb is to keep somebody else from using one.
The atom bomb was no 'great decision.' It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness.