The Next Hiroshima

August 6 provides a critical moment to reflect not only on the terrible events of that day, but also on current nuclear threats.

By Noam Chomsky

August 6 should have been a day of somber reflection, not only on the terrible events of that day in 1945, but also on what they revealed: that in their dedicated quest to extend their capacities for destruction, humans finally found a way to approach the ultimate [RETURN TO ARTICLE]

  • Reader Comments

    As soon as the first bomb detonates in Iran, there will be a nuclear detonation within a week. Does anyone believe the USA will permit the Iranians to launch missiles into Israel? The sociopaths currently in power in the United States have absolutely no qualms concerning the deaths of innocents; in fact, they regularly applaud and reward the body counts in various nations. Ask the Iraqi or Afghanis.

    Posted by denny on Aug 8, 2012 at 11:40 AM

    The July 16th fishing boat incident Chomsky mentioned:
    http://news.antiwar.com/2012/0…

    “Obama, Romney Are Reckless on Iran” by Sheldon Richman:
    http://www.fff.org/comment/com…

    Posted by PeaceRequiresAnarchy on Aug 8, 2012 at 1:12 PM

    Our hypocritical rulers would rather the Mid East be a Muslim-free zone than a nuclear-free zone!

    Posted by Rex in Australia on Aug 8, 2012 at 10:26 PM

    No Mideast nation other than Israel aspires destructive nuclear power.

    Posted by John Rukab on Aug 9, 2012 at 7:22 AM

    I live in China.  When those cities were nuked, the Japanese Army was marooned in China, without the ability to survive without stealing food from people who were starving themselves, and whom they had robbed, brutalized, massacred, and enslaved for 16 years.  Some 100,000 Chinese a month were still being slaughtered.  Another year it is estimated it would have taken to invade Japan would likely have resulted in the deaths of 1.2 million more Chinese, who had done no wrong, in their own country.  I cannot believe the sacrifice of one tenth that number, regardless the indiscriminate brutality of the act, was not an acceptable trade-off.  It stopped the killing instantly and probably even saved the lives of half a million Japanese soldiers, as well.  Americans are well regarded in China, despite more than half a century of adverse propaganda from their government.  Many will tell you two reasons: the Flying Tigers, who were the only help they received from the outside world, and the rapid end we brought to the Japanese invasion.  Doesn’t anybody in America even care about that?

    Posted by Irwin Weisberg on Aug 15, 2012 at 7:19 PM