On August 9th, 1945, the United States dropped the nuclear bomb Fat Man on the city of Nagasaki, Japan. Together with the previous nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, 340,000 civilians were killed, according to Tufts professor Tadatoshi Akiba.
On August 9th, 1945, the United States dropped the nuclear bomb Fat Man on the city of Nagasaki, Japan. Together with the previous nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, 340,000 civilians were killed, according to Tufts professor Tadatoshi Akiba. Half of those died on the first day, many instantly incinerated. Much more died in following years from radioactive environmental contamination.
We are told that the ends justified the means. It was acceptable to kill large civilian populations to save American lives. However, the fact remains that this was intentional targeting of civilian populations for a political objective.
The dictionary defines terrorism as: “The use of violence or the threat of violence, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political goals.” According to this, the nuclear bombings and napalm bombing of around 100,000 Tokyo civilians are among the greatest singular acts of state terrorism in history.
These bombings also happened after Japan indicated they were prepared to surrender, so why? Some believe it was to intimidate Russia with new weapons or racism. General Curtis Lemay, who led the firebombings, said, “Killing Japanese didn’t bother me… I suppose if I had lost the war, I would have been tried as a war criminal…”
World War II was arguably a just war. However, we must accept that war typically involves state terrorism. In most wars, especially WWII, all sides become hellish mass murdering monsters, especially when bombs are involved.
There is rarely ever a clean, “smart” bomb. Innocent men, women and children almost always die. Most bombs are dropped in or near cities and villages, and most kill civilians every time. However, in the case of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, civilians were the intended target.
To mark the 70th anniversary of these bombings, the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology recently held its annual remembrance at the UA Fulbright Peace Fountain. OMNI members and musicians were joined by speakers Mayor Lioneld Jordan, Marine veteran Bill Williams, and Carmen Chong Gum, Consul General for the Marshall Islands.
According to the Marshallese Education Inititiative, the Northwest Arkansas region has a population of 12,0000 Marshallese immigrants. This is the largest enclave in the US, largely due to poultry industry employment. Immigrants can obtain indefinite work visas here due to a 1986 military compact.
Many left their homelands to escape more extreme poverty and because the US detonated 67 nuclear bombs in their territory, making some islands uninhabitable. This included Castle Bravo, the largest bomb ever detonated by the US, which was 1,000 times larger than Hiroshima. The 60 mile blast radius incinerated 3 islands. Before bombing, the US evacuated the people. According to Gum, many lived in exile for 33 years before they were allowed to return in 1980 after a partial cleanup of some islands.
Gum also mentioned the Guardian article about Runit Dome. It is a massive concrete enclosure containing 111,000 cubic yards of radioactive waste from the US bombing, which is cracking and leaking. It is also becoming submerged due to rising sea levels due to climate change, and the possibility of a catastrophic spill is high considering increasing storm intensities.
However, our government claims it has honored its obligations, and the Marshallese are now responsible for the toxic dome. Yet, their population is 53,000 with a GDP of $190 million, mostly from US aid, and has no capacity to deal with the costly and dangerous radioactive mess we left.
Gum also spoke about the Nuclear Zero Lawsuits being brought by the Marshallese government. The lawsuits claim nuclear nations failed to move toward nuclear disarmament in compliance with the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), signed by 191 nations.
Article VI of the NPT states that signatories must “pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures (for) nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.”
Laurie Ashton, lead attorney for the case in US Federal Court, commented, “This case asks the question whether the President… is above the law… of the NPT, a legally binding treaty… (T)he United States has the world focused on nonproliferation measures across the globe, (but) is in flagrant breach of its obligation to negotiate complete nuclear disarmament…and is instead actually modernizing its nuclear arsenal with…a budget of approximately $1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion dollars).”
Considering our compounding environmental problems, it would seem wise to eliminate nuclear weapons immediately. Population continues growing rapidly while the world’s capacity to sustainably provide food and potable water for everyone is increasingly strained.
It is our duty to lead nuclear bomb abolition now while we have relative stability and remain the most powerful nation. Unfortunately, we have little peace leadership. Obama mentioned a world free of nuclear bombs early on, but has since committed to the trillion dollar upgrade. Nobel Peace Prize revoked. According to Scientific American, a trillion dollars is beyond the cost of transforming a majority of our nation to solar energy.
For a more peaceful world, we must grow grassroots power like Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter. Some politicians listen to the grass under foot. Strong grass can reach their faces.
Like the Nuclear Zero Lawsuits, peace pie in the face cannot be ignored.
Toward A World Free From Nuclear Fear
On August 9th, 1945, the United States dropped the nuclear bomb Fat Man on the city of Nagasaki, Japan. Together with the previous nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, 340,000 civilians were killed, according to Tufts professor Tadatoshi Akiba.
On August 9th, 1945, the United States dropped the nuclear bomb Fat Man on the city of Nagasaki, Japan. Together with the previous nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, 340,000 civilians were killed, according to Tufts professor Tadatoshi Akiba. Half of those died on the first day, many instantly incinerated. Much more died in following years from radioactive environmental contamination.
We are told that the ends justified the means. It was acceptable to kill large civilian populations to save American lives. However, the fact remains that this was intentional targeting of civilian populations for a political objective.
The dictionary defines terrorism as: “The use of violence or the threat of violence, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political goals.” According to this, the nuclear bombings and napalm bombing of around 100,000 Tokyo civilians are among the greatest singular acts of state terrorism in history.
These bombings also happened after Japan indicated they were prepared to surrender, so why? Some believe it was to intimidate Russia with new weapons or racism. General Curtis Lemay, who led the firebombings, said, “Killing Japanese didn’t bother me… I suppose if I had lost the war, I would have been tried as a war criminal…”
World War II was arguably a just war. However, we must accept that war typically involves state terrorism. In most wars, especially WWII, all sides become hellish mass murdering monsters, especially when bombs are involved.
There is rarely ever a clean, “smart” bomb. Innocent men, women and children almost always die. Most bombs are dropped in or near cities and villages, and most kill civilians every time. However, in the case of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, civilians were the intended target.
To mark the 70th anniversary of these bombings, the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology recently held its annual remembrance at the UA Fulbright Peace Fountain. OMNI members and musicians were joined by speakers Mayor Lioneld Jordan, Marine veteran Bill Williams, and Carmen Chong Gum, Consul General for the Marshall Islands.
According to the Marshallese Education Inititiative, the Northwest Arkansas region has a population of 12,0000 Marshallese immigrants. This is the largest enclave in the US, largely due to poultry industry employment. Immigrants can obtain indefinite work visas here due to a 1986 military compact.
Many left their homelands to escape more extreme poverty and because the US detonated 67 nuclear bombs in their territory, making some islands uninhabitable. This included Castle Bravo, the largest bomb ever detonated by the US, which was 1,000 times larger than Hiroshima. The 60 mile blast radius incinerated 3 islands. Before bombing, the US evacuated the people. According to Gum, many lived in exile for 33 years before they were allowed to return in 1980 after a partial cleanup of some islands.
Gum also mentioned the Guardian article about Runit Dome. It is a massive concrete enclosure containing 111,000 cubic yards of radioactive waste from the US bombing, which is cracking and leaking. It is also becoming submerged due to rising sea levels due to climate change, and the possibility of a catastrophic spill is high considering increasing storm intensities.
However, our government claims it has honored its obligations, and the Marshallese are now responsible for the toxic dome. Yet, their population is 53,000 with a GDP of $190 million, mostly from US aid, and has no capacity to deal with the costly and dangerous radioactive mess we left.
Gum also spoke about the Nuclear Zero Lawsuits being brought by the Marshallese government. The lawsuits claim nuclear nations failed to move toward nuclear disarmament in compliance with the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), signed by 191 nations.
Article VI of the NPT states that signatories must “pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures (for) nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.”
Laurie Ashton, lead attorney for the case in US Federal Court, commented, “This case asks the question whether the President… is above the law… of the NPT, a legally binding treaty… (T)he United States has the world focused on nonproliferation measures across the globe, (but) is in flagrant breach of its obligation to negotiate complete nuclear disarmament…and is instead actually modernizing its nuclear arsenal with…a budget of approximately $1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion dollars).”
Considering our compounding environmental problems, it would seem wise to eliminate nuclear weapons immediately. Population continues growing rapidly while the world’s capacity to sustainably provide food and potable water for everyone is increasingly strained.
It is our duty to lead nuclear bomb abolition now while we have relative stability and remain the most powerful nation. Unfortunately, we have little peace leadership. Obama mentioned a world free of nuclear bombs early on, but has since committed to the trillion dollar upgrade. Nobel Peace Prize revoked. According to Scientific American, a trillion dollars is beyond the cost of transforming a majority of our nation to solar energy.
For a more peaceful world, we must grow grassroots power like Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter. Some politicians listen to the grass under foot. Strong grass can reach their faces.
Like the Nuclear Zero Lawsuits, peace pie in the face cannot be ignored.