WHAT DROPPING THE BOMB MEANT FOR THE FUTURE :: Essays Paper

WHAT DROPPING THE BOMB MEANT FOR THE FUTURE This page is focused what dropping the atomic bomb on Japan meant for the future of nuclear war. The page will discuss the events such as the Cuban missile crisis and most recent developments as the Gulf War with the ultimate question being asked, what if we did not drop the bomb? The decision to use the atomic bomb was controversial. Some have claimed the bombing was unnecessary to defeat Japan. Some claim that the United States utilized the atomic bomb to scare the Russian and make them respect American military power. But regardless of the reason, purpose, or motivation, the bomb ended the war quickly and preserved the lives of many Americans (696 Kagan). While it preserved American life, the use of nuclear weapons had consequences we are experiencing today and will experience for years to come. The Atomic Age had begun as soon as the bomb left the cargo bay of the Enola Gay. There was no turning back. The decision that the United States toiled over seemed almost automatic because of all the time and money the United States had committed to its development. But what the bomb meant for the future of the world was unthinkable. No one could have imagined the fear that the phrase "nuclear weapons" strikes in the heart of so many people. Many, many nations have developed nuclear weapons since the Hiroshima bombing and these nations have the capabilities to do to the United States what the United States did to Japan. In 1945, the world was on the brink of nuclear holocaust. Although the world has settled in to more peaceful times since then, the world still fears another conflict which could extinguish the entire human race (58 Sagan). The first post-war effects of the United States' use of the atomic bomb was the Cold War and more specifically the Cuban missile crisis. The U.S., the sole-possessor of atomic weapons at the time, was upset at the Soviets policy of expanding westward. The height of the Cold War and the event the had the United States on the tip of nuclear destruction was the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. Russian premier Nikita Khrushchev made the decision to install nuclear weapons in Cuba, a Soviet ally after a 1957 revolution.