WWII Historian Says G7 Leaders Need to Remember the Lessons of Hiroshima | Amanpour and Company

Hiroshima, site of the G-7 summit, remains a living reminder of the unthinkable horror of using nuclear weapons....often bandied about these days as legitimate battlefield armament. In his new book, Evan Thomas concludes the United States had no other option than to drop the atomic bombs on Japan.

Originally aired on May 19, 2023

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[stoarieti]

In my opinion, Mr. Thomas' argument about the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan is mistaken. Yes, the US felt compelled to drop the bombs, but the choice to drop the bombs FIRST on population centers as large as Nagasaki and Hiroshima without first detonating the bombs over less-populated terrain as a show of force and a warning to the Japanese was an act of excessive force, which is a war crime. Perhaps if the US had first detonated the bombs over unpopulated terrain and still the Japanese had refused to surrender then maybe one can argue that there was no other choice than to commit this mass slaughter of civilians.

Unfortunately, in addition to the obvious reason of ending the war, part of the motivation behind dropping the bombs was pure vengeance, part of the motivation was racial (I doubt the US would have dropped the bombs on a European nation in the same situation), part of the motivation was to see what effects the bombs would have on human beings and on structures, and don't forget the not so subtle messaging directed at the Soviet Union.

The tragic events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki are a grim reminder of how utterly perverse the genie of violence becomes once it's let out of the bottle. The situation in Ukraine is another reminder. And there are so many others. Violence is not the answer. War is not the answer.

[DurgaDas]

The guest says with a straight face that “ the US is not imperialist”. I can’t believe the interviewer let him get away with that statement. So conquering the entire North American continent by force and systematic genocide of Native Americans isn’t imperialism? Taking over Hawaii wasn’t an imperialistic action?

[vivalaleta]

What irony to say the "I'm good and you're evil" attitude is somehow Russian.

[nathanpiazza]

Author doesn't mention the victims of the bomb(s), only the feelings of the bombers 😮‍💨

[codebus]

Japan was trying to surrender. They wanted Russia to negotiate. This was three months the before the bombs. The president knew it. The war council was still split even after both bombs.

[keiram]

I would suggest that all cultures have veins of madness that are waiting to be expressed, and to say that the US is not an imperial power as Mr Thomas says at 12:40 is jaw-dropping.

[johnpodesta]

Great reporting. Thanks for posting this on youtube!

[robertdillon]

Russia is not going to use a nuclear weapon, and anybody who thinks he is is profoundly wrong, because he knows Moscow will cease to exist 20 minutes later. He is not that stupid.

[rohanrocks]

Why US has not apologized yet-:)? Any answer!! No Options. May be same applies to Russia.

[theunspeakable]

This historian states that the US is not "imperialist". Maybe in words only. Look at our spread of democracy in Iraq, Vietnam, South America, Yemen. I sense that this historian is in a "democratic' trance. He's human and having a hard time facing what this country is doing. Did we not promise to not expand Nato? and did we not break that promise aggressively? Moral ambiguity is much easier on those making money from the war than anyone else.

[chesterfinecat]

"We had to slaughter civilians." Sure, Japan had no more navy, air force nor ability to import any war materials but they weren't going to surrender and we were going to have to invade because siege warfare hadn't been invented yet.

[garybowler]

Truman never felt a thing over his decision he was a cold and mean man.

[DeOmnibusDubitandum]

12:12 go figure, Japanese people reading history!! Anglo chauvinism is strong with this one!

[tyeadel]

Didn't someone say "history is doomed to repeat itself".

[insanisstultitia]

Other historians research found that surrender could have happened without the bombings if the US had compromised on its goal of unconditional surrender. The sticking point for the Japanese was retaining the emperor in his position. It is unclear if they would have accepted the reduction of the emperor to a figurehead, as eventually happened after the war. Many officials advocated for maintaining the emperor’s authority as a condition for surrender even after the Hiroshima bombing.

[bobcornwell]

I think that what is different now is that we now have a nuclear armed nation state with a leader with no mechanism within that state to remove him.

In the Soviet Era, the politbureau had the power to remove their national leader.

[ksc]

I saw an interview with someone from the US Navy who said the war regarding Taiwan would be an Underwater Arms Race. Who has the most nuclear submarines?

[jaymacpherson]

The resolution for the war on Ukraine is for Putin to withdraw from the territory he invaded going back to 2014. Presuming he will resort to nuclear weapons assumes he views that as a non-terminal option. It also presumes the Russian military will follow such an order.

[alanshackelford]

I'd suggest Putin give them some considerable consideration too. Deterrence has to have teeth. Bigger, better US defense presence on the Pacific in the 1930's = no need for Hiroshima.

[akeleven]

Point me to an era, a month, or a day when leaders were not posturing.