Army Ethics

August 6th and 9th marked the 70th anniversary of the dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which ultimately brought an end to the war in the Pacific. An ongoing debate regarding President Truman’s decision to use the atom bomb against Japan continues today. Much of the fodder for the debate uses inaccurate history and distorted views of the options President Truman had available to him.

Truman’s decision is wrapped up in Just War Doctrine and Military Ethics so an understanding of what went into his decision is beneficial to military officers studying those disciplines and wanting to lead ethically while making moral decisions.

Below is a link to a video produced by Prager University which features Father Wilson Miscamble, professor of history at Notre Dame University. In this 5 minute video, Father Miscamble offers an historical and ethical view of the use of the atom bomb to end the war with Japan, giving insight into President Truman’s decision.

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This entry was posted on 9 August 2015 at 0836 and is filed under Ethics for Leaders, Just War, Warrior Ethics with tags Atom Bomb, Hiroshima, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, Nagasaki, President Truman, Truman's decision, World War Two. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.