Hiroshima, 65 Years Later

Today is the 65th anniversary of the first use of atomic weapons in warfare. On August 6th, 1945, the Enola Gay (piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, Jr.) flew over Hiroshima, Japan, and dropped the atomic bomb "Little Boy" at about 8:15am local time.

The mushroom cloud as viewed from the Enola Gay

The explosion and aftermath is thought to have killed 100,000-150,000 people. Three days later, another nuclear bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, and six days after that, Japan surrendered to the Allies.

President Harry Truman decided to use the atomic weapons in hopes it would cause the Japanese to surrender, and prevent an Allied ground invasion of Japan (Operation Downfall). Casualty estimates for the proposed invasion ranged from half a million to a million American casualties, and several million Japanese casualties.

An interesting side note - about 500,000 Purple Heart medals were manufactured in advance of the preparations for invasion, in anticipation of mass American casualties. In 2003, there were still 120,000 medals left.

The mushroom cloud, as viewed from Hiroshima

Loss of life is tragic, as is war, but sometimes drastic measures are necessary in order to save lives. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are prime examples. Had the atomic bomb not been used, the war could have dragged on for another year, and millions more may have died on both sides.

As History looks back at Hiroshima, it deems it a necessary tragedy.

Netanyahu Slams Ahmadinejad, UN at UN General Assembly

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu absolutely slams Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in this speech at the United Nations General Assembly.



Too bad the Ahmadinejad wasn't present to see minutes from the Wannsee Conference, which presented the plan for deportation and extermination of the Jews by the Nazis. Too bad Ahmadinejad wasn't present when Bibi held up the original plans, signed by Nazi Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, for the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp.

Bibi also slammed those who sat through the Ahmadinejad speech, and praised those nations who walked out of the chamber in protest. He also condemned UN hypocrisy in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts; in particular, when Iranian-backed Hamas fired rockets into Israel.

The fiery speech is excellent, and I recommend listening to the speech in its entirety. Would that our president was more like Bibi...

Paper: Netanyahu vs. Ahmadinejad Reminiscent to Churchill vs. Hitler

An editorial in the Investor's Business Daily says that "the global stage is set for a confrontation reminiscent of Churchill vs. Hitler and Reagan vs. Gorbachev. How long will Benjamin Netanyahu tolerate an Iranian nuclear threat before acting?"

A very good question, especially since the inept IAEA just announced that Iran, with madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the helm, has enough enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb. And that's just the stuff that the IAEA knows about. Does Iran have stockpiles of uranium that the IAEA does not know of? Quite possibly.

Anyway, here's a link to the whole editorial. Many very good points are made, especially regarding the ineffectiveness of the IAEA. It's a must read.

Report: Black Death Kills Al-Qaeda Terrorists, Focres Camp Closure

Report: Al-Qaeda Messes Up Possible Bio/Chemical Weapons Test...

An Al-Qaeda affiliate in Algeria closed a base earlier this month after an experiment with unconventional weapons went awry, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Monday.

The official, who spoke on the condition he not be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue, said he could not confirm press reports that the accident killed at least 40 Al Qaeda operatives, but he said the mishap led the militant group to shut down a base in the mountains of Tizi Ouzou province in eastern Algeria.

He said authorities in the first week of January intercepted an urgent communication between the leadership of Al Qaeda in the Land of the Maghreb (AQIM) and Al Qaeda's leadership in the tribal region of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan. The communication suggested that an area sealed to prevent leakage of a biological or chemical substance had been breached, according to the official.

"We don't know if this is biological or chemical," the official said.

The story was first reported by the British tabloid the Sun, which said the Al-Qaeda operatives died after being infected with a strain of bubonic plague, the disease that killed a third of Europe's population in the 14th century. But the intelligence official dismissed that claim.

(Washington Times article, Fox News article)

Al-Qaeda is believed to have been working on acquiring biological and/or chemical weapons, in addition to nuclear, for some time. The intel officer said "unconventional", which might refer to biological or chemical weapons. Has Al-Qaeda gotten a hold of those weapons, or were there attempting to manufacture their own?