Today marks the anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki, the second [and last so far and we hope forever] time a nuclear weapon has been used in international combat.
People often note the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima three days earlier but overlook this anniversary.
This may be a mistake. Historians have been arguing for sixty-three years whether President Truman made the correct decision in bombing both of these cities and history usually vindicates him, both because of the Japanese intransigence and because we know now that neither Truman nor anybody else had a full appreciation of the long-term effect of radiation.
Admittedly, it was not until after the dropping of the second bomb that the Japanese agreed to seek peace, but it does make me wonder if it was so necessary to drop the second one so soon. The jury seems to be still out on that one.
In the meantime we remain the only country to have ever used a nuclear weapon in wartime, although anybody under eighty-something can profess personal innocence. Let us hope that we remain the only country to ever use a nuclear weapon in wartime.
Peace.
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