The bombings violated international laws
codified in the Hague and Geneva conventions, which prohibit indiscriminate
attacks on civilian populations
By Fareed Khan
On August 6 and 9, 1945, the United
States unleashed an unparalleled act of state-sponsored terrorism by dropping
atomic bombs on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, targeting civilian populations in an act of calculated
annihilation. Eighty years later, as we commemorate this grim milestone, the
moral and historical weight of these actions demands a fiercer reckoning.
The bombings, which incinerated entire cities and claimed countless lives, were not merely wartime decisions but deliberate acts of mass murder, cloaked in the rhetoric of necessity. The United States’ justification—that these bombs were essential to end World War II—crumbles under scrutiny, revealing a legacy of imperial hubris, unpunished war crimes, and a chilling precedent for global domination.
The 1983 animated film Barefoot Gen
offers a harrowing glimpse into the apocalyptic horror inflicted upon Hiroshima’s
civilians—men, women, and children vaporized, burned, or condemned to slow
deaths by radiation. This was not warfare against a military force but a
deliberate targeting of civilians outside the Japanese military, a violation of every moral and legal
standard, including the Hague
Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the 1925 Geneva Protocol,
which explicitly condemned attacks on civilian populations. The death
toll from the two bombings was staggering—an estimated 140,000 in Hiroshima and 74,000 in
Nagasaki perished by the end of 1945, with tens of thousands more succumbing to
radiation-induced cancers in the decades that followed. These figures, often
conservatively reported, mask the individual agonies—families obliterated,
survivors scarred physically and psychologically, and entire communities
erased.
The US narrative, meticulously crafted by the victors, insists the bombs were a grim necessity to avoid a costly invasion of Japan, potentially saving American lives. This claim is a grotesque distortion, contradicted by a chorus of contemporary voices who argued the war could have ended without such savagery. They included:
The US narrative, meticulously crafted by the victors, insists the bombs were a grim necessity to avoid a costly invasion of Japan, potentially saving American lives. This claim is a grotesque distortion, contradicted by a chorus of contemporary voices who argued the war could have ended without such savagery. They included:
- Admiral William Leahy, chief military advisor to Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman;
- General Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe;
- General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific;
- General Curtis LeMay, future head of the U.S. Air Force;
- Navy Secretary James Forrestal;
- former President Herbert Hoover;
- Albert Einstein; and
- Some of the lead scientists of the Manhattan Project.
Admiral
William Leahy declared, “The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and
Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. I was not
taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women
and children.” General
Dwight Eisenhower, in an October 25,1963 New York Times article, was
reported to have condemned the bombings as unnecessary. In his memoirs he
stated that he had “grave misgivings” when he was told of plans to use the new
weapon. He said that he believed Japan was “already defeated.” General
Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific, found no
military justification for the bombings, noting Japan was already on the brink
of surrender.
Even scientists from the Manhattan Project joined Albert Einstein in petitioning against the bombs’ use, warning of their catastrophic humanitarian impact. These dissenters, sidelined by history’s victors, reveal a truth: the bombings were less about ending the war than about flexing American power, particularly to intimidate the Soviet Union which was seen as a possible adversary to the US once the war ended. The decision to annihilate Hiroshima and Nagasaki was in effect a calculated act of terrorism, defined by the targeting of a civilian population to achieve military objectives. President Harry Truman, who authorized the bombings, as well as those who carried out his orders, bear the stain of war criminals, a label they escaped only because history is written by the powerful.
The US and its allies have long evaded accountability for their wartime atrocities, while condemning others for lesser crimes. The bombings violated international laws codified in the Hague and Geneva conventions, which prohibit indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations. Yet, no American leader has ever faced a tribunal for these acts, a stark reminder that justice is selective when empires are the ones in control of the narrative.
The legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki extends far beyond 1945, casting a shadow over America’s post-war conduct. The bombings established a template for American imperialism, where moral posturing as a beacon of democracy and human rights masks a ruthless pursuit of global hegemony. In the decades since, the US has orchestrated or supported interventions—overt and covert—that mirror the callousness of 1945. The invasion of Iraq, the bombing of Libya, interventions in Latin America, support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, have resulted in a conservatively estimated 20 million civilian deaths at the hands of the US since World War Two. They echo the disregard for human life seen in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
Covert operations in Iran, Venezuela, and countless other nations reveal a pattern of destabilizing governments that resist US dominance, often at the cost of civilian suffering. The US condemns nuclear proliferation while remaining the only nation to have used these weapons, a hypocrisy that fuels global distrust. Iran’s and North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear arms, for instance, is less an act of aggression than a desperate attempt to shield themselves against a nation that has demonstrated its willingness to annihilate entire cities.
Eighty years on, the US continues to cloak its actions in the language of freedom and security, yet its history reveals a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde duality. It champions human rights while undermining them abroad, as seen in the CIA’s support for coups and dictatorships in Latin America, the Middle East, and beyond.
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not anomalies but the opening act of an American century built on the bodies of the innocent. The refusal of US leaders to acknowledge this legacy—let alone apologize or make reparations—underscores a nation unwilling to confront its own capacity for evil.
The 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear attacks demands more than sombre reflection. It requires a global reckoning. The US needs to be held accountable, not just for Hiroshima and Nagasaki but for the precedent they set, that might excuses acts of egregious immorality. The remaining few survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, known as "Hibakusha", continue to bear witness, their stories a testament to the enduring human cost of nuclear terror. Their voices, often marginalized, remind us that the bombings were not abstract military decisions but personal catastrophes—children burned alive, parents searching for loved ones in irradiated rubble, futures stolen by cancers that lingered for generations.
As we mark this anniversary, the world faces a nuclear arsenal today vastly more destructive than in 1945, with the US leading the charge in modernizing its stockpile while condemning nations like Iran who want their own nuclear shield. The irony is grotesque. The only nation to have committed nuclear atrocities dictates the terms of global non-proliferation.
Let this 80th anniversary be a clarion call—not just to remember the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki but to dismantle the systems of power that enable such horrors. No nation should hold the power to annihilate entire cities, and no empire should escape judgment for its terrorist crimes. The hope that no other nation joins the US as a perpetrator of nuclear warfare remains fragile, tethered to a world where justice remains elusive and the victors still write the story.
Even scientists from the Manhattan Project joined Albert Einstein in petitioning against the bombs’ use, warning of their catastrophic humanitarian impact. These dissenters, sidelined by history’s victors, reveal a truth: the bombings were less about ending the war than about flexing American power, particularly to intimidate the Soviet Union which was seen as a possible adversary to the US once the war ended. The decision to annihilate Hiroshima and Nagasaki was in effect a calculated act of terrorism, defined by the targeting of a civilian population to achieve military objectives. President Harry Truman, who authorized the bombings, as well as those who carried out his orders, bear the stain of war criminals, a label they escaped only because history is written by the powerful.
The US and its allies have long evaded accountability for their wartime atrocities, while condemning others for lesser crimes. The bombings violated international laws codified in the Hague and Geneva conventions, which prohibit indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations. Yet, no American leader has ever faced a tribunal for these acts, a stark reminder that justice is selective when empires are the ones in control of the narrative.
The legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki extends far beyond 1945, casting a shadow over America’s post-war conduct. The bombings established a template for American imperialism, where moral posturing as a beacon of democracy and human rights masks a ruthless pursuit of global hegemony. In the decades since, the US has orchestrated or supported interventions—overt and covert—that mirror the callousness of 1945. The invasion of Iraq, the bombing of Libya, interventions in Latin America, support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, have resulted in a conservatively estimated 20 million civilian deaths at the hands of the US since World War Two. They echo the disregard for human life seen in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
Covert operations in Iran, Venezuela, and countless other nations reveal a pattern of destabilizing governments that resist US dominance, often at the cost of civilian suffering. The US condemns nuclear proliferation while remaining the only nation to have used these weapons, a hypocrisy that fuels global distrust. Iran’s and North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear arms, for instance, is less an act of aggression than a desperate attempt to shield themselves against a nation that has demonstrated its willingness to annihilate entire cities.
Eighty years on, the US continues to cloak its actions in the language of freedom and security, yet its history reveals a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde duality. It champions human rights while undermining them abroad, as seen in the CIA’s support for coups and dictatorships in Latin America, the Middle East, and beyond.
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not anomalies but the opening act of an American century built on the bodies of the innocent. The refusal of US leaders to acknowledge this legacy—let alone apologize or make reparations—underscores a nation unwilling to confront its own capacity for evil.
The 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear attacks demands more than sombre reflection. It requires a global reckoning. The US needs to be held accountable, not just for Hiroshima and Nagasaki but for the precedent they set, that might excuses acts of egregious immorality. The remaining few survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, known as "Hibakusha", continue to bear witness, their stories a testament to the enduring human cost of nuclear terror. Their voices, often marginalized, remind us that the bombings were not abstract military decisions but personal catastrophes—children burned alive, parents searching for loved ones in irradiated rubble, futures stolen by cancers that lingered for generations.
As we mark this anniversary, the world faces a nuclear arsenal today vastly more destructive than in 1945, with the US leading the charge in modernizing its stockpile while condemning nations like Iran who want their own nuclear shield. The irony is grotesque. The only nation to have committed nuclear atrocities dictates the terms of global non-proliferation.
Let this 80th anniversary be a clarion call—not just to remember the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki but to dismantle the systems of power that enable such horrors. No nation should hold the power to annihilate entire cities, and no empire should escape judgment for its terrorist crimes. The hope that no other nation joins the US as a perpetrator of nuclear warfare remains fragile, tethered to a world where justice remains elusive and the victors still write the story.
© 2025 The View From Here. © 2025 Fareed Khan. All Rights Reserved.
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