Kantor said:
The USA was the first country in the world to obtain a nuclear weapon and therefore the first to be able to use it without fear of response in kind. Had Iran acquired a bomb before Israel, you could be certain that it would be used.
Yes, American foreign policy is very questionable, but that doesn't extend to dropping nukes. Perhaps this is a personal bias because Britain is practically America's closest ally in the world, but I do feel safer in a world in which America has a nuclear bomb.
If we could get rid of nukes entirely, that would be brilliant, but I definitely wouldn't want North Korea, China, Russia and the like possessing nuclear weapons whilst America didn't.
As for Libya, honestly you can't fault America for intervening there because:
a) It was really secondary to Britain and France there
b) Everyone was screaming at America to get involved.
Things always look different in retrospect. Iraq was always unpopular, but there was overwhelming support for invading Afghanistan initially, as there was for invading Libya.
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Plus, like you said before the Nuclear bombing was pretty much needed in WW2. Now, I was against Iraq and Libya, and indifferent to afghanistan....
but what people who bag on the US for using nukes in WW2 forget is... well history.
Japan only surrendered because after the first two attacks, the thought we had 100 more due to torture of a guy who didn't know anything and lied to stop torture.
Every other scenario... including just a blockade of Japan would of cost more Japanese lives then the nukes, and more japanese civilian lives. (Not that I think that is why they did that, but it's worth noting.)
Japan actually recovered so fast and had it's "Economic Miracle" largely thanks to how fast and how quickly the US moved, saving tons of people on the brink of starvation.
People often argue the japanese would of surrendered anyway, but they really don't get the mindset that was at work. Members from the peace faction of the government called the atomic bombs "A gift from heaven".
Can you imagine how messed up a situation you have to be in, with no chance of surrender for you to say two bombs wiping out ENTIRE cities of your own people are a "Gift from Heaven."
I mean, imagine what kind of awful situation you'd have to be in where you'd think two of your cities being destroyed was a good thing.
Sadly the dropping of the atomic bombs was the most "moral" outcome that could be made. Faced with the same choices today, you'd choose the atomic bombings time and time again, unless your a fan of more people on all sides and more innocents dieing just for some weird sake of honor or not having the stigma of being the only country to use nukes on another.
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