Let the Bomb Be: A Letter to President Truman

Dear President Harry S. Truman,

I urge you to reconsider your plans to use the recently developed atomic bomb to end the current war with Japan.  World War II has certainly gone on long enough.  The brutal battles across the European front have claimed millions of lives.  Civilians and military personal alike have all fallen under the cloud of death that war brings.  Now Japan stands alone as the final opponent in this bloody confrontation.  Our soldiers stand wearily at the ready, hoping that the ensuing battle will bring the chapter to a close.  The atomic bomb may seem like the ideal solution, but it is far from it.  Some stakeholders may push you to use the islands of Japan as a real world test for the weapon.  Do not fall prey to their words, as the heart of battle is no place for a test.  Although the bomb surely has the power to destroy, its true qualities are still unknown.  You must remember that other nations, even our allies, are not privy to the full gamut of information regarding this new weapon.  Although the bomb may quickly end the war, the long term political effects, loss of civilian lives and alternative strategies make the weapon a last resort.  The war can be ended in other ways that keep our countries integrity, and future, safe.

Dropping the bomb on Japan will expose the power of such a weapon to the entire world.  No single device has ever held so much destructive force, and it is foolish to think that other nations will not try to get their hands on such technology.  Although it is reasonable enough to believe that our nation can keep the plans and diagrams internal, scientists from other leading nations will seek to replicate our success.  Our nation’s scientific prowess is surely the strongest in the world, proved by our ability to develop the atomic bomb sooner than any of our rivals.  Nonetheless, we cannot assume that other powerful nations will not be able to accomplish the task themselves, especially when they are given a live demonstration of the weapons power.  

All eyes are currently on the nations at war, be these eyes participant or neutral.  A public bomb exhibition will leave traces for other nations to follow in attempting to duplicate the device.  Dr. Leo Szilard, a physicist who is deeply involved with the A-bomb project, prepared a memorandum to then President Roosevelt against using the bomb to neutralize Japanese aggression.  Szilard believes that an atomic strike may catalyze a nuclear arms race between Russia and the United States.   The prospect of an arms race with Russia adds additional negative effects to dropping the bomb.  Such activity would keep United States citizens in a state of unrest, a position they surely do not deserve after such an arduous conflict.  Although ending the war without further American loses is crucial, the future of our nation must be included in current plans.

A nuclear strike sacrifices a vast number of innocent lives and puts a negative spin on what would otherwise be a morally strengthening victory for the United States.  The war can be won without using the bomb.  Continuing with the strike will only draw our nation up as a criminal once the dust has subsided.  Although all involved nations have participated in air based bombing attacks, these actions are difficult to justify wholly and blindly.  There were even women serving as pilots in World War II. There must be a limit to the actions our nation is willing to take, or risk pursuing goals no more noble than those of the nations we are fighting.  Former President Roosevelt actively spoke against the acceptance of civilian casualties, a sentiment that is felt by the general American public.   To keep our morals intact in victory, our nation must strive to be the best in our actions and conduct.  

The entirety of this Second World War has been a crescendo of malicious acts.  Allies respond to axis bombings with strikes of ever increasing strength .  We must end the progression before the climax is reached and break our hand away from the dirty act of civilian fatalities.  The act itself is both morally a legally questionable.  The United States has agreed that attacks on undefended towns and villages are unlawful.   Although many of the actions occurring in WWII have broken this rule, it gives no reason to further violate policies we as a nation have agreed upon as morally acceptable in war.  The bomb has the added component of causing possibly unnecessary suffering, which is again unlawful under the Hague conventions.   The belief that the war may be ended without such a weapon strengthens claims against the unlawfulness of its use.  At the close of the war the United States will stand as a hero or villain based on its actions at the close.  Do not leave the opinion open to the interpretation of post war critiques.

The alternative options for ending fighting with Japan make the use of the atomic bomb a stakeholder desire rather than a necessity.  Japan is already incredibly weakened and likely looking for a way to end the war that does not involve the complete concessions of unconditional surrender.  Our air superiority and naval blockades have decimated the Japanese infrastructure, as the country is currently producing at only 40 percent of its wartime peak.   Damage from fire bombings and other aerial attacks have left the nation so scarred that we may soon run out of cost efficient targets.  Japan no longer has allies in the war, and they cannot hope to recoup these damages internally while still fighting off our superior naval and air fleets.  Various reports have been made stating that Japan is requesting mediating help from the Soviet Union.   The Soviets are still poised to enter the conflict directly, and such a move is sure to topple the last bit of Japanese resistance that remains.  

Although the Japanese are a proud nation, they cannot ignore the evidence that mounts before them daily.  Our naval blockades alone have almost entirely eliminated new shipments of food and industrial supplies to the islands.  The people of Japan area already suffering under the toils of a losing war, and they cannot hold out much longer.  It takes time for realizations to sink in, and for political forces to accept the conclusion that is upon them.  No leader wishes to lose face entirely, and further negotiations with Japanese leaders will end the war.  Unconditional surrender has been selected for a variety of solid reasons, yet it need only apply to Japanese military might.   The Japanese fight to the end to protect the sanctity of their emperor, and since he does not control the military forces of the nation he is not the threat the U.S. must eliminate.

The points for dropping the bomb do exist and I will not ignore them here.  Supporters of the bomb claim that it will end the war without question, and in this situation the bomb will save American lives.  Soldiers will not be required to enter what is expected to be a brutal land war with Japan, should it occur.  The loss of American lives here outweighs the sentiments against using such a weapon on noncombatant forces.  Supporters of the bomb believe that Japan will not surrender until it is truly forced to do so.  They feel that the bomb and direct ground invasion are the only ways to forcibly end the conflict.  Some military analysts are concerned about the role of the Soviet Union in the current conflict.  The Soviets have not yet fully entered the conflict with Japan, and their assistance may come at a price.  Strategists are concerned that the Soviets will want a piece of the concessions from Japan to expand their influence in Asiatic territories.  Others believe that the bomb will intimidate the Soviet Union the point where they fear further conflict with the United States.  The beliefs are not without favor, and it may be difficult to convince all parties that the alternatives to the bomb are truly the correct choice. There are already countless Russians emigrating to the United States.

Although the concerns of bomb supporters are well founded, they do not outweigh the benefits of a less destructive end to the current conflict.  The United States can mediate Japanese surrender, without the need for a full ground based invasion of the islands or the loss of an untold number of civilian lives. Japan is weakened to the point of inevitable defeat, and their leaders cannot continue to ignore this point through the continuing naval blockades and aerial strikes.  Dropping the atomic bomb on Japan will distort the positive morality of our eventual victory in this war.  Thousands more civilians will die unnecessarily, in an act that is considered unlawful by our own standards of military conduct.  A demonstration of the bombs power will not frighten the soviets into avoiding further conflict; it will only entice them into pursuing their own nuclear programs further.  I implore you, as President of our great nation, to stand strong in our position as the heroes and defenders in the war.  Dropping the bomb will set a precedent that will last for generations and will cast a negative light at the very conclusion of the battle.  Do not let curiosity outweigh our countries best interests, and let our victory be one that strengthens the nation both politically and morally.

Bibliography

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Bard, Ralph. National Archives, Washington, DC, "Memorandum on the Use of the S-1 Bomb." Last modified 27 June 1945. http://www.doug-long.com/bard.htm. Accessed March 27, 2013.

Dannen, Gene. "President Truman Did Not Understand." U.S. News Online, Last modified August 15, 1960. http://members.peak.org/~danneng/decision/usnews.html. Accessed March 27, 2013.

Scott, James. "The Hague Conventions and Declarations of 1899 and 1907." Oxford University Press, Last modified 1907. http://archive.org/stream/hagueconventions00inteuoft Accessed March 27, 2013.

United States Government Printing Office Washington: 1946, "United States Strategic Bombing Survey Summary Report (Pacific War)." Last modified December 7, 1999. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/USSBS-PTO-Summary.html Accessed March 27, 2013.