https://time.com/6297240/atomic-bomb-expert-oppenheimer-inte...
Maybe, just maybe because Japan was so close to surrender that there even was a coup attempt to prevent him from surrendering?
"Any myths about this history you want to debunk or set the record straight on?"
"The big one was that the Japanese were ready to surrender and would have surrendered even if we had not dropped those bombs. I think that is a myth. Oppenheimer seems to have believed that the weapon was used against a country that was about to surrender—as he puts it, essentially defeated. The Japanese were essentially defeated—that’s true. Their fleet had been sunk and their cities had been burned. But they were not ready to surrender."
"Did the bombs lead to the Japanese surrender on Sep. 2?"
"Two atomic bombs forced them to. The dominant reason [the U.S.] used the bomb was to end the war. [The U.S.] thought the only way to end the war was to use these two terrible weapons."
Sounds like a good recipe for all current and future wars. /s
After the US took Japan, we reinstated the emperor, wrote their constitution, and used Japan as an imperial outpost to threaten Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, and Russia, which we do to this day. In the case of Korea, we invaded in the 1950s and never left, setting up a puppet state. Okinawans and many Koreans want the US military out of their countries.
This was an acceptable trade to the Japanese elite, because the communists would have removed their monarch in the name of liberty!
https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/05/30/the-bomb-didnt-beat-jap...
I don't think it does. No one will mess with you if you merely have one bomb let alone the US which has 5k+ warheads and a triad of delivery mechanisms. Blowing up nuclear bombs anywhere for "testing" purposes is stupid.
> The cost is negligible
Environmentally, not at all neglible. Financially, probably since we fund our military more than anyone else.
of course it is, it's CNN
of course it is, it's CNN
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpd26yxxx3lo
"These are not nuclear explosions," Wright told Fox News on Sunday. "These are what we call non-critical explosions."
"Americans near historic test sites such as the Nevada National Security Site have no cause for concern," Wright said. "So you're testing all the other parts of a nuclear weapon to make sure they deliver the appropriate geometry, and they set up the nuclear explosion."
No reason to think this is true, All the major powers (US, Russia, China) have extensive underground testing capacity. All the recent powers have only done underground testing (Pakistan, India, North Korea). China was the last country to do an above ground test, in 1980, the 22 tests they've done since then were all underground.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-putin-ukraine-nuclear-miss...
Reminds me of this scene from Arrested Development https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/28b0326d-cba4-4d26-8c54-977f04b...
"The Marshales caught by fallout got 175 wrenchons of radiation. These are fishing people, savages by our standards.
So a cross-section was brought to Chicago for testing. The first was John, the mayor of Rangala Battle. John, as we said, is a savage, but a happy aminable savage."
About as many Marshallese live in USA as on the islands.
umanwizard•2h ago
stronglikedan•1h ago
while we're at it