tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13588125.post113282943174380716..comments2023-10-20T22:58:52.569+03:00Comments on Botanist on Alp: Somewhat dark thoughts on historystockholm slenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16909107517362691387noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13588125.post-1132851059845949332005-11-24T18:50:00.000+02:002005-11-24T18:50:00.000+02:00Yes, the WMD are such a nightmare. I hope I would ...Yes, the WMD are such a nightmare. I hope I would have more trust in the humankind not ending up using them. But I don't much have it. The Western Self/Other dynamic is getting more destructive all the time, escalations follow each other. With these trends it seems to be only a matter of time.stockholm slenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16909107517362691387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13588125.post-1132848772447241612005-11-24T18:12:00.000+02:002005-11-24T18:12:00.000+02:00Thanks for another poetic post. We have been lucky...Thanks for another poetic post. We have been lucky to avoid a nuclear war. Yet we often forget Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The actual experience of nuclear bombs falling on cities was what made that atavistic fear of the end of the world so real. Even if Japan survived, the world survived and life goes on, the fear of other cities falling victim of war in that unimaginable way is still real. India vs. Pakistan could easily provide a worse scenario than that. At this moment, I'm quite optimistic about Musharraf and his relationship with India but a nutjob could start a nuclear war in many countries. Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists is the worst threat imaginable and no-one is safe from that.<BR/><BR/>Now President Truman made that fateful decision to drop the atomic bombs in 1945. He's one of the Presidents I appreciate the most, not nutjob at all. I guess he chose between Japanese children dying for years as a result of radiation and plenty of American soldiers dying in battle. Maybe he even didn't know what he was choosing between. Maybe if he hadn't shown how bad the bombs are someone else would have been quick to use them. Still, it was a dark moment in history that ended the apocalypse. How can it be that a statesman I respect so much and who was in no way stupid could go to such extremes? Was dropping the atomic bomb simply another event in the war comparable to the bombings of Dresden or Tokyo? Wasn't one bomb needed if that weapon had to be used? Is people dying of cancer for years after the war is over comparable to the usual effect of landmines after any war? Too many questions without answers.<BR/><BR/>Yes, military defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan was hugely important. It was the only way for the free world to remain free. But didn't Nagasaki, if not Hiroshima learn a lesson? I mean overreacting in an issue of such magnitude is too much of playing God, even if it was about a defensive war. I think a civilized nation should never, ever drop atomic bombs again. That should be rule number one in any war. Goal number one in the war on terror should be preventing terrorists from getting access to nuclear weapons. I'm not at all convinced that this issue is being taken seriously despite all the talk.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com