Some facts on dropping the two bombs

[Jim Lane]

80. The atomic bombs WERE different.

It's not just a matter of numbers. Our fire-bombing of Tokyo killed more people (and more civilians) than did either of the atomic bombs.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki represented a new type of weapon, though. One plane dropping one bomb could wreak incredible destruction. Furthermore, it's not just 20-20 hindsight to point out that these were the very earliest such bombs. It could reasonably be anticipated that the technology would advance beyond even this horrific starting point.

There's some similarity to an event in more recent history. In 2001, more U.S. citizens died in automobile accidents than in terrorist attacks. Nevertheless, it's the September 11 attacks that still resonate in the public consciousness. Flying planes into skyscrapers really is different from a bunch of people driving drunk or running red lights or whatever each of them did, regardless of the comparative death tolls.

Granted, Washington decisionmakers didn't know all that we know now about these weapons and the threat of all-out nuclear war. They should reasonably have had some understanding that they were turning a corner, though. They knew that certain types of weapons, such as poison gas, were against international law, even though no gas attacks ever killed people in the numbers seen in some of the World War II non-nuclear bombings. International law had no express prohibition on using atomic bombs against civilians, but the question had never arisen before. (There is an argument to be made that, even without that express provision, the bombings violated international law, but that's a different subject. I'm just making the analogy here, to show that there are considerations beyond the bare number of deaths.)

Finally, another point that's different about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, besides the weapon used, is the context. The bombing of Tokyo had occurred several months earlier. By August, it was a lot harder to make the case that causing mass civilian deaths was a military necessity. In fact, the military commanders agreed that the war could have been won without the atomic bombs and without a costly invasion. See "American Military Leaders Urge President Truman not to Drop the Atomic Bomb" for details. A huge August bombing raid that killed the same number of people but by non-nuclear means would also have been subject to serious criticism.