Borek: Every human life is valuable, whether it's Allied or Axis, whether he/she were to be killed by conventional arms or nuclear bombs. The Warsaw Uprising lives in my heart. Although Warsaw was completely destroyed in the process, it remains as a model of underground resistance against the Oppressors. What really amaze me was that you Poles rebuild the entire city of Warsaw from scratch after WWII. Today, it's a bustling modern city with some re-created artefacts of the old Warsaw. The Germans may have suppressed the resistance, but they have not destroyed the Polish spirit. This is evident in rebuilding Warsaw - a miraclous feat in its own right.
On the other hand, does the Polish government spend as much money as the Japanese to 'advertise' the tragedy?
Jdsurg: America didn't start the nuclear arm race. The Germans did (and shared their research with the other Axis Power member states), and they were defeated in the process. In the end, the Germans could not secure enough Uranium to carry out any comprehensive test or build a bomb due to British and American Navy exercising trade embargo. This also meant that the Japanese had no supply of Uranium to supplement their nuclear research. Consequently, not only the American won the WWII nuclear arm race, but also bombed her Japanese rival. America did not start the nuclear arm race.
America merely propagated the nuclear arm race into the 21st century since the end of WWII. The Cold War & Marshall Plan had its roots in Germany, where American troops met Russian troops, where both armies were there to salvage German ruins for information. In fact, the German intelligence service was the best then. It was known that German Intelligence had infiltrated into the various political factions and military ranks among the Allied Power member states. Not surprisingly the CIA was not only modelled after Hitler's Intelligence Service, but also the CIA intelligence database is built on information gathered from the German ruins. If you don't believe me regarding the establishment of the CIA, feel free to counter-check the history of the CIA. Any country would have vested interest in all that could be gathered from German ruins, from intelligence on Europe to nuclear weapon research, including the United Kingdom and France. I guess they were too busy rebuilding themselves and seeking for foreign investment to revive their post-war economy. If America does not seek to propagate nuclear weapons worldwide for its own interest, how did the White House pull the trick to convince the British goverment to pay for Nuclear Trident Missiles that need American permission to fire?
The Soviet Union saw the tail end of WWII as a great way to go ahead and increase their imperialistic domination of Asia
Oh well, USA never believed it is an Imperial empire, perhaps because it lacks a monarchy. At the end of the twentieth century, the USA is the largest imperial power. In total, it controlled nearly 4 million people including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean together with the Pacific Islands of the Marshalls, Samoa and the Marianas. Most of the Pacific islands were used for military purposes, including nuclear testing. Are these American colonies or American states?
There is an inherent deterrent effect in building a large stockpile. Government realise if they have nuclear weapons, they are less likely to be attacked by another country and invaded.
How do nuclear weapons deter a war? The more countries that possess nuclear weapons, the greater the probability of any war. You were right that USSR never attacked USA or vice versa. But do you recall the Cuban Missile Crisis where the USSR had deployed mid-range nuclear missiles targetting Washington, New York, etc. The American stockpile never stopped Russian intention. As long all American nuclear misile silos are nuked, the Russians still win the war. Ultimately, as long the war was fought on American soil, USSR would have otherwise won. Moreover, 2months ago, the Financial Times UK quoted a Chinese general who had threatened to nuke the USA if the USA were to interfere with the future Chinese Invasion of Taiwan.
Seeing your rival country has equipped itself with nuclear weapons provides greater motivation to arm your own country with nuclear weapons. Was it not an arm race that triggered WWI? A nuclear arm race will inevitably leads to war, regardless if it's nuclear or conventional. Have you not ponder if Pakistan and Indian armed force will clash? Kashmir is a very dangerous place now.
In fact, the total destruction associated with nuclear weaponry makes other areas of weaponry more attractive. Has not non-nuclear warfare become progressively gory in recent times? Does the employment of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War and the 2yr-bombing of Chechnya with Chemical Nerve Agents ring a bell? Anthrax scare and Ebola Outbreaks in Africa is no joke too.
The nuclear arm race propagated by American has brought the world into darker realm than it was 60yr ago. Nuclear weaponry does not provide any deterrent. It provides a false sense of security. A large nuclear weapon stockpile does not protect one's country from other rival countries or groups. It takes one nuke to create ultimate horror but so much more conventional arms to create horror of the same magnitude.
Which is more terrifying? Nuclear rivalry between two countries or one terrorist group with a nuclear bomb? Both are equally horrific because of the levelling effect that is brought by the enormous magnitude of a nuclear weapon explosion. Now that the USSR has dissolved, nuclear weapons has become more accessible to terrorists. Isn't the world a safer place during the Cold War? At least alliance were so much more easier to forge and identify, and mercenaries wouldn't be out of job, such that now terrorists hire them.
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Topic: 60 Years Ago Today.. (Read 23085 times)