To the Point
Obama, the Bomb and Memories of War
Seventy-one years later, the first sitting US President visits Hiroshima, not to apologize, but to call attention to the threat nuclear warfare still poses. President Obama's historic visit has been warmly received by many Japanese, including some survivors of the atomic bomb dropped on the city 71 years ago.
By Barbara Bogaev • • 1 min readSeventy-one years later, the first sitting US President visits Hiroshima, not to apologize, but to call attention to the threat nuclear warfare still poses. President Obama's historic visit has been warmly received by many Japanese, including some survivors of the atomic bomb dropped on the city 71 years ago.
But the trip's been controversial here at home. Some survivors say it's not enough. Some war veterans say it's too much, and that dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was needed to achieve peace quickly. Does a call for a nuclearfree world ring true when it comes from a President who is upgrading America's nuclear arsenal and has presided over the nation's longest wars? We look back and ahead.
