The nuclear arms race had taken a fearful step forward. The Soviet Union exploded a thermonuclear device the following year and by the late 1970s, seven nations had constructed hydrogen bombs. He and others argued that little would be accomplished except the speeding up of the arms race, since it was assumed that the Soviets would quickly follow suit.The opponents were correct in their assumptions. Why Did The United States Drop Atomic Bombs On The Japanese Cities Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki In 1945 As a first attempt to bring the war to a quick end, Truman decided that in order to reduce casualties significantly, he would use the atomic bomb in an attempt to overcome Secretary of War Henry Stimson, General Dwight Eisenhower and many Manhattan Project scientists’ moral objections. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the fathers of the atomic bomb. Opponents of development of the hydrogen bomb included J. Popularly known as the hydrogen bomb, this new weapon was approximately 1,000 times more powerful than conventional nuclear devices. The test gave the United States a short-lived advantage in the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union.įollowing the successful Soviet detonation of an atomic device in September 1949, the United States accelerated its program to develop the next stage in atomic weaponry, a thermonuclear bomb. It was a historic day that changed the world and its legacy continues to be complex and ongoing.The United States detonates the world’s first thermonuclear weapon, the hydrogen bomb, on Eniwetok atoll in the Pacific. The effects of 9/11 were also felt closer to home as many governments, including in the UK, began to introduce new anti-terror legislation to combat the perceived threat from international terrorism. Both countries are still riven with conflict today. The events on 9/11 led directly to war in Afghanistan, to the US declaration of the ‘War on Terror’ and subsequently later to the invasion of Iraq. More than 90 countries lost citizens in the attacks including 67 individuals from the UK. But it also had catastrophic long-term consequences across the globe. There is no limit on the yield of this weapon. Their role has since come under close scrutiny alongside their justifications for war.ĩ/11 was a direct attack on the very heart of the US mainland, an event never experienced as directly by Americans before. In this type of bomb, deuterium and tritium (hydrogen isotopes) are fused into helium, thereby releasing energy. After the initial success of removing Saddam from power, the US-led coalition took responsibility for reconstruction of the country. The Bush administration claimed that Iraq’s ruler, Saddam Hussein, was developing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that threatened the peace of the world. Rumour at the time had it that nothing will grow here. ‘On August 6, 1945, a single atomic bomb destroyed our city. Two years after 9/11 a decision was made to invade Iraq. A moment of silence was shared in the city of Hiroshima at 8:15 am today. The broader impact of 9/11 meant that the perceived threat of international terrorism dominated governments and their foreign policies. Troops became increasingly involved in intense combat operations against a Taliban insurgency until 2014. ISAF was initially tasked with providing security in Kabul and after NATO took command in 2003, ISAF deployed more widely across Afghanistan. A UN-mandated multinational force, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was established to help secure Kabul and assist the new administration.

Following an international conference in in December, a new transitional Afghan government was formed. The Taliban regime fell in November 2001. American, British and Afghan United Front (Northern Alliance) forces were deployed to destroy al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban regime that had harboured the terrorist group in Afghanistan.

9/11 shook the world and shaped the generation to come.Īn invasion of Afghanistan was launched barely one month later, on 7 October 2001. The US had experienced terrorist attacks previously, but none had been on the same scale or significance. On 20 September, US President George W Bush declared a 'War on Terror' and stated that defeating terrorism was now the world’s fight. The attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives and impacted many more globally.

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