WPCNR OBSERVATIONS. By John F. Bailey. Reprinted from the WPCNR Archives. August 6, 2026
In view of Russia’s Vladimir Putin being reported by The New York Times Monday as saying he would retaliate with nuclear weapons in the event of a nuclear attack by the United States, it is sobering to note that Mr. Putin has taken this policy gambit.
I would like to point out what an atomic attack does. We have scientific evidence.
Eignty-one years ago on Sunday 1945, the Enola Gay, a single American bomber dropped an Atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan.
The terrible effects of that single bomb are a horror that has never been repeated
A second bomber, Bock’s Car on August 9, dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
Unknown thousands of Japanese citizens’ lives were vaporized, burned, maimed and two cities leveled to the ground in an instant in both bombings.
To grasp what one atomic bomb did to Nagasaki, readers may see the photographs Japanese photographer Yosuki Yamato took of the aftermath of Nagasaki the day it happened August 9, 1945 at http://www.exploratorium.edu/nagasaki/photos.html#journey/63.jpg
The decision to drop the bombs was made after the United States, Great Britain and the Republic of China demanded Japan surrender in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26 or face “prompt and utter destruction”.
The Japanese government did not surrender.
The United States deployed two nuclear weapons dropping one on Hiroshimi, 81 years ago today and one on Nagasaki on August 9.
Over four months the bombs resulted in the deaths of 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki, half dying the day the bombs fell.
The Hiroshima prefecture health department estimated that, of the people who died on the day of the explosion, 60% died from flash or flame burns, 30% from falling debris and 10% from other causes. During the following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness.
In a US estimate of the total immediate and short term cause of death, 15–20% died from radiation sickness, 20–30% from burns, and 50–60% from other injuries, compounded by illness. In both cities, most of the dead were civilians, although Hiroshima had a sizable garrison.
The horror of those two bombings and the aftermath, the injuries created have resulted in an effort and reluctance on the part of nuclear-armed powers to avoid any nuclear attacks since that date.
Within a few days of those bombings, Japan surrendered unconditionally, officially ending World War II.
The decision to use the bombs by the United States has long been debated. A dialogue on what the bombs did, why the decision was made was collected in 1995, the fiftieth year since the bombings. It is available at http://www.exploratorium.edu/nagasaki/commentary/decision.html
It is important that leaders with nuclear capabilities get a grasp on the reality of the nuclear devastation.
Trying to justify a first strike nuclear attack as a deterrent to a perceived possible attack will destroy the country attacked, their economy, millions of people.
If two little bombs like the ones dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki can level and annihilate the population of a city, a series of nuclear strikes in a first strike or a retaliatory strike with today’s super bombs the world may suffer from prolonged radiation clouds.
One thing is certain, you cannot “undrop” a nuclear strike. The massive megaton strength of today bombs assures a death of an area and region where it is dropped.
Any area attacked with a nuclear bomb will destroy the nation attacked ability to function and grow for a time we cannot imagine.
it is not an option.
In 2016, a second gigantic sarcophagus was completed. It prevents more than 200 tons of radioactive material from escaping to the outside in the long term. It is expected it can work for a century.