What were 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages to using the atomic bomb during world war 2?

Answer 1

Three advantages to using the atomic bomb in WW II:

1. This could be described as an early version of what was later known during the Gulf War as "shock and awe". The atomic bomb was so impressive that the Japanese finally realized that they had better surrender.

2. As compared to sending in a massive wave of American soldiers to conquer Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it is much faster, easier, and cheaper to just destroy the cities, and this produces far fewer American casualties.

3. Most importantly of these three reasons, by ending the war faster, the US was able to limit the involvement of the USSR, which intended to overrun the Japanese islands as it had already overrun Eastern Europe. Even before WW II ended, the maneuverings of the Cold War had already begun.

Three disadvantages to using the atomic bomb in WW II:

1. The atomic bomb is an indiscriminate killer of both military and civilian populations; it is a cruel weapon of mass destruction.

2. Aside from the initial destruction, the atomic bomb leaves a lingering blight of radiation. People continued to die in Japan as a result of radiation poisoning, and of cancer caused by radiation, for many years after WW II had ended. This is, again, much more cruel than more usual types of weapons.

3. And perhaps most seriously of all, the use of atomic bombs in WW II creates an unfortunate precedent. It would be difficult at this point for the US to claim, convincingly, that atomic weapons are too terrible to ever be used, because the US has already used them. If they can be used once, they can be used again.