Nu hvor USA så småt er begyndt at rasle med atom-sablen (om ikke andet retorisk), så kan man jo godt tænke lidt tilbage på sidste gang atomvåben blev brugt i vrede. Vi har jo samtidig lige passeret 70årsdagen for angrebet på Pearl Habor, der som bekendt var både årsag og undskyldning for angrebene på Hiroshima og Nagasaki.
Jeg tror de fleste er bekendt med selve angrebene, men de færreste ved nok, at amerikanerne nedkastede advarsler i form af 5 millioner flyveblade, godt en uge før Hiroshima blev bombet. Da man ikke ønskede, at afslører de specifikke mål, blev flyvebladene nedkaster over 33 japanske byer. I tillæg udsendte amerikansk propagandaradio advarsler hvert kvarter. Problemet var selvfølgelig, at hverken befolkningen i Hiroshima, eller Nagasaki, anså deres by for et muligt militært mål. Advarslen havde derfor ingen effekt.
På bagsiden stod:
“Read this carefully as it may save your life or the life of a relative or friend. In the next few days, some or all of the cities named on the reverse side will be destroyed by American bombs. These cities contain military installations and workshops or factories which produce military goods.
We are determined to destroy all of the tools of the military clique which they are using to prolong this useless war. But, unfortunately, bombs have no eyes. So, in accordance with America’s humanitarian policies, the American Air Force, which does not wish to injure innocent people, now gives you warning to evacuate the cities named and save your lives.
America is not fighting the Japanese people but is fighting the military clique which has enslaved the Japanese people. The peace which America will bring will free the people from the oppression of the military clique and mean the emergence of a new and better Japan.
You can restore peace by demanding new and good leaders who will end the war. We cannot promise that only these cities will be among those attacked but some or all of them will be, so heed this warning and evacuate these cities immediately.”
Efter den første bombe havde ødelagt Hiroshima, men selvfølgelig før Nagasaki blev ramt, nedkastede amerikanerne yderligere advarsler. Denne gang holdt de sig ikke tilbage med de våbentekniske detaljer. Faktisk kan man næsten spore en vis morbid stolthed.
“We are in possession of the most destructive explosive ever devised by man. A single one of our newly developed atomic bombs is actually the equivalent in explosive power to what 2000 of our giant B-29s can carry on a single mission. This awful fact is one for you to ponder and we solemnly assure you it is grimly accurate.
We have just begun to use this weapon against your homeland. If you still have any doubt, make inquiry as to what happened to Hiroshima when just one atomic bomb fell on that city.
Before using this bomb to destroy every resource of the military by which they are prolonging this useless war, we ask that you now petition the Emperor to end the war. Our president has outlined for you the thirteen consequences of an honorable surrender. We urge that you accept these consequences and begin the work of building a new, better and peace-loving Japan.
You should take steps now to cease military resistance. Otherwise, we shall resolutely employ this bomb and all our other superior weapons to promptly and forcefully end the war.”
Japan overgav sig seks dage senere (15. august 1945). USA havde ikke flere atomvåben i arsenalet, så hvorvidt de ‘teoretisk’ ville have kastet yderligere atombomber er ren spekulation. Det diskuteres stadig indædt, hvorvidt de to bomber der blev smidt over Japan tjente et egentligt militært formål. Amerikas to øverste generaler (Eisenhower og Nimitz) udtalte senere, at krigen reelt allerede var overstået og bomberne derfor ikke spillede nogen afgørende rolle.
“I voiced to him my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
“The Japanese had, in fact, already sued for peace. The atomic bomb played no decisive part, from a purely military point of view, in the defeat of Japan.”
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet
