Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Oppenheimer, has shattered multiple records, and still plays to sold out cinemas the world over weeks after its box office debut. A labyrinthine visual epic, it tells the tragic story of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer’s stratospheric rise to international renown as “father of the Atomic bomb”, and unceremonious undoing once his creation’s terrifying detonation over Hiroshima and Nagasaki transformed him into a committed anti-nuke activist.
Glad I know how to read books and paid attention to my father who served in the Pacific Theatre and didn't want to come back. I pay no attention to MSM or Hollywood and don't waste my money. We imported those Nazis in Operation Gladio and Operation Paperclip and have been paying the price ever since and now it's in full bloom for the World to see. Unfortunately, few bother to pay attention.
Thank you! I always knew that the USA was fully aware of Japan’s surrender plans. I was not aware of the position of Japan and their understanding of the role of the USSR. This was very informative article. I learned a lot!
Great article on a truly terrible topic. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sheer gratuitous nonsense, violating any codes of ethics left. If you can find it, check out Paul Boyer's "By the Bomb's Early Light" (1985), which provides plenty of evidence how Americans actually reacted to the Atomic Bomb drops, kind of like Berliners when the Wehrmacht rolled into Paris: Just look down and don't say anything...
Very good summary. I've been reading on this subject for decades but you brought up a few details I hadn't heard. I didn't know Dresden was also meant to be a demonstration for the Soviets. It's so important to counter the official narrative of the bomb's use in Japan. Thank you very much.
You can’t convince me that Oppenheimer (2023) is not DOD facilitated propaganda to glamorize military-sponsored mass murder. I heard enough stories from #Downwinders, many of whom continue to suffer the effects of state violence, to believe them.
Thanks for that. I also saw this documentary, and I came under the impression that Oppenheimer was a ruthless sociopath himself. How does it fit then with his post-war regrets?
The deep cynicism and cruelty of the U.S. elite in pursuit of world dominance after WWII shown here makes me worry about what it might be willing to do now as its grip on world dominance is inevitably slipping away. We are indeed in dangerous times.
So let me get this straight: the Japanese high command was terrified of a Russian invasion of Japan and not at all concerned about the bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That's the narrative here. Why would that be?
Were they also not concerned about an invasion of the US army?
The Japanese high command and emperor sound completely insane in this narrative -- why were they more worried about the Russians than the instant obliteration of two cities?
This narrative has the problem, like almost every narrative I've read surrounding the decisions to drop the bombs, of simplifying a complex and confusing set of circumstances and decisions assessed and taken within the fog of war to serve a particular narrative. The truth, which is impossible to fully know, is guaranteed to be far more chaotic and confused made by human beings in the middle of a terrifying war. I know we're supposed to demonize everything military in the west, being on the left and all (and ignoring that strange question of why Japan was more terrified of the Russians than the US -- you know the ones who had been kicking their asses all over the pacific for 3 years), but can we take a moment to ask whether the Russians perhaps weren't carrying flowers in their guns for just a second? That perhaps capitulation to the west was preferable for any number of reasons?
This particular narrative also irks me because, not only doesn't it hold up logically: even on its own terms it elides the clear implication that the Japanese military leadership was completely unconcerned about the civilian population of Japan; but any invasion, from either Russia the US or both, would've resulted in far more death, misery and destruction for Japan than the two atomic bombs. So which is it -- did the Japanese military care about civilian deaths or not? Were they or were they not willing to fight to the last Japanese?
Not to mention any invasion would've resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, or millions of Allied soldiers: something which all these revisionist narratives don't ever seem to have the slightest concern for. Apparently the writers of these narratives didn't have or don't care about any ancestors who might've died in that invasion. The US military's goal was to win the war with as few US casualties as possible. That's what Russia is doing in Ukraine right now and demonizing the WWII military leadership for achieving that goal is dishonest and characterless.
So back to the narrative: the Japanese were on the verge of capitulation and it had nothing to do with the two bombs -- that's the story here. So even though they finally surrendered unconditionally only 6 days after the Nagasaki bomb we're supposed to believe the bombs had nothing to do with it. There's a lot missing from this narrative.
Oppenheimer had his reasons for opposing nukes after he had husbanded them into existence. But reasons are just logic we apply to emotions we don't really understand. I would take his, and any other, simple narrative justification for what it is: largely an exercise in futility that is doomed from inception to be only partial, simplistic and flawed. Demonization of US military command is easy and popular these days but nothing is ever as simple and clear cut as this piece wants it to be and it does a disservice to all those who died in that awful war to attempt it in such a simplistic and clearly political way. The currently fashionable narrative is the decision to drop the bombs was monstrous and wrong and anything that might contradict that narrative will simply not be discussed. I just can't get with this way of thinking.
Most of us on the left decry the simplification of the Ukraine war into an "unprovoked invasion". Are we not guilty of the same when we write simplistic narratives for decisions made in the middle of the deadliest war in human history almost 80 years ago?
I find it bitterly ironic that the Japanese Prime Minister, in his 2023 Hiroshima Day speech, neglected to mention just who dropped those bombs. I guess atomic bombs are a meteorological phenomenon?
Instead, the good little lackey focused on Russia.
I would recommend reading the “Plutonium Files” and the after that, go and find the documents of the 1994 Senate hearing on the radiation experiments on human beings.
The database was taken down (and likely sanitized) shortly after 9/11. And when you read through some of documents, you find some interesting names… for instance Willard Libby (Nobel Price recipient and famous for his Nickname, which weirdly no one knows about, “Get me some dead baby bones“) and Tara O’Toole.. which you may know if you read anything form the Center for Health Security (SPARS-Pandemic)… the Victoria Nuland of the Biosecurity sector.
Don't turn the WWII Japanese into victims. They were the very definition of ravenous invaders. Butchers in China. Unspeakable, militarily unnecessary violence against millions of confused and defenceless civilians.
That generation is gone... Replaced by a peaceful and humane culture. But make no mistake about the crimes of that militaristic generation.
I haven’t seen the movie nor will I see it because it is a pointless exercise as we all know what happened next after it was deployed. The military nutcases will of course fawn over it - good for them.
Fine reporting on the movie and on the "real" J.R. Oppenheimer.
I hope every American who claims to be glad that the bomb was dropped on innocent civilans in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (with its significant and historic Christian population) will have a chance too visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, to see photos and artifacts from the aftermath. It is a soul-shaking experrience.
He introduces some material not reported here (and some of the material here is not covered there), but the conclusion is the same---the bomb was not needed to induce the Japanese to end the war, they wanted the war to end much sooner than they did, but did not want to give up the right to continue the lineage of the Japanese imperial house and thus hesitated to "unconditionally surrrender".
Glad I know how to read books and paid attention to my father who served in the Pacific Theatre and didn't want to come back. I pay no attention to MSM or Hollywood and don't waste my money. We imported those Nazis in Operation Gladio and Operation Paperclip and have been paying the price ever since and now it's in full bloom for the World to see. Unfortunately, few bother to pay attention.
Thank you. I really feel I learned something reading that publication.
Thank you! I always knew that the USA was fully aware of Japan’s surrender plans. I was not aware of the position of Japan and their understanding of the role of the USSR. This was very informative article. I learned a lot!
Great article on a truly terrible topic. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sheer gratuitous nonsense, violating any codes of ethics left. If you can find it, check out Paul Boyer's "By the Bomb's Early Light" (1985), which provides plenty of evidence how Americans actually reacted to the Atomic Bomb drops, kind of like Berliners when the Wehrmacht rolled into Paris: Just look down and don't say anything...
Very good summary. I've been reading on this subject for decades but you brought up a few details I hadn't heard. I didn't know Dresden was also meant to be a demonstration for the Soviets. It's so important to counter the official narrative of the bomb's use in Japan. Thank you very much.
You can’t convince me that Oppenheimer (2023) is not DOD facilitated propaganda to glamorize military-sponsored mass murder. I heard enough stories from #Downwinders, many of whom continue to suffer the effects of state violence, to believe them.
Thanks for that. I also saw this documentary, and I came under the impression that Oppenheimer was a ruthless sociopath himself. How does it fit then with his post-war regrets?
https://vitaldissent.com/oppenheimer
The deep cynicism and cruelty of the U.S. elite in pursuit of world dominance after WWII shown here makes me worry about what it might be willing to do now as its grip on world dominance is inevitably slipping away. We are indeed in dangerous times.
So let me get this straight: the Japanese high command was terrified of a Russian invasion of Japan and not at all concerned about the bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That's the narrative here. Why would that be?
Were they also not concerned about an invasion of the US army?
The Japanese high command and emperor sound completely insane in this narrative -- why were they more worried about the Russians than the instant obliteration of two cities?
This narrative has the problem, like almost every narrative I've read surrounding the decisions to drop the bombs, of simplifying a complex and confusing set of circumstances and decisions assessed and taken within the fog of war to serve a particular narrative. The truth, which is impossible to fully know, is guaranteed to be far more chaotic and confused made by human beings in the middle of a terrifying war. I know we're supposed to demonize everything military in the west, being on the left and all (and ignoring that strange question of why Japan was more terrified of the Russians than the US -- you know the ones who had been kicking their asses all over the pacific for 3 years), but can we take a moment to ask whether the Russians perhaps weren't carrying flowers in their guns for just a second? That perhaps capitulation to the west was preferable for any number of reasons?
This particular narrative also irks me because, not only doesn't it hold up logically: even on its own terms it elides the clear implication that the Japanese military leadership was completely unconcerned about the civilian population of Japan; but any invasion, from either Russia the US or both, would've resulted in far more death, misery and destruction for Japan than the two atomic bombs. So which is it -- did the Japanese military care about civilian deaths or not? Were they or were they not willing to fight to the last Japanese?
Not to mention any invasion would've resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, or millions of Allied soldiers: something which all these revisionist narratives don't ever seem to have the slightest concern for. Apparently the writers of these narratives didn't have or don't care about any ancestors who might've died in that invasion. The US military's goal was to win the war with as few US casualties as possible. That's what Russia is doing in Ukraine right now and demonizing the WWII military leadership for achieving that goal is dishonest and characterless.
So back to the narrative: the Japanese were on the verge of capitulation and it had nothing to do with the two bombs -- that's the story here. So even though they finally surrendered unconditionally only 6 days after the Nagasaki bomb we're supposed to believe the bombs had nothing to do with it. There's a lot missing from this narrative.
Oppenheimer had his reasons for opposing nukes after he had husbanded them into existence. But reasons are just logic we apply to emotions we don't really understand. I would take his, and any other, simple narrative justification for what it is: largely an exercise in futility that is doomed from inception to be only partial, simplistic and flawed. Demonization of US military command is easy and popular these days but nothing is ever as simple and clear cut as this piece wants it to be and it does a disservice to all those who died in that awful war to attempt it in such a simplistic and clearly political way. The currently fashionable narrative is the decision to drop the bombs was monstrous and wrong and anything that might contradict that narrative will simply not be discussed. I just can't get with this way of thinking.
Most of us on the left decry the simplification of the Ukraine war into an "unprovoked invasion". Are we not guilty of the same when we write simplistic narratives for decisions made in the middle of the deadliest war in human history almost 80 years ago?
I find it bitterly ironic that the Japanese Prime Minister, in his 2023 Hiroshima Day speech, neglected to mention just who dropped those bombs. I guess atomic bombs are a meteorological phenomenon?
Instead, the good little lackey focused on Russia.
Huh. Next you’ll find that Barbie distorted women in order to sell merchandise. Filing this one under “Well yeah, what else did you expect?”
there are bombings and there is Dresden bombing
I would recommend reading the “Plutonium Files” and the after that, go and find the documents of the 1994 Senate hearing on the radiation experiments on human beings.
Here is a link to the timeline: https://www.osti.gov/opennet/servlets/purl/10111991.pdf
The database was taken down (and likely sanitized) shortly after 9/11. And when you read through some of documents, you find some interesting names… for instance Willard Libby (Nobel Price recipient and famous for his Nickname, which weirdly no one knows about, “Get me some dead baby bones“) and Tara O’Toole.. which you may know if you read anything form the Center for Health Security (SPARS-Pandemic)… the Victoria Nuland of the Biosecurity sector.
Don't turn the WWII Japanese into victims. They were the very definition of ravenous invaders. Butchers in China. Unspeakable, militarily unnecessary violence against millions of confused and defenceless civilians.
That generation is gone... Replaced by a peaceful and humane culture. But make no mistake about the crimes of that militaristic generation.
I haven’t seen the movie nor will I see it because it is a pointless exercise as we all know what happened next after it was deployed. The military nutcases will of course fawn over it - good for them.
Fine reporting on the movie and on the "real" J.R. Oppenheimer.
I hope every American who claims to be glad that the bomb was dropped on innocent civilans in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (with its significant and historic Christian population) will have a chance too visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, to see photos and artifacts from the aftermath. It is a soul-shaking experrience.
Ryan Dawson published a compedium of facts regarding the US atomic bombing of Japan on his substack at https://ryandawson.substack.com/p/the-real-reason-america-used-nuclear
He introduces some material not reported here (and some of the material here is not covered there), but the conclusion is the same---the bomb was not needed to induce the Japanese to end the war, they wanted the war to end much sooner than they did, but did not want to give up the right to continue the lineage of the Japanese imperial house and thus hesitated to "unconditionally surrrender".