this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2024
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[โ€“] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Pretty sure Japan wouldn't agree with that last point....

[โ€“] Zagorath@aussie.zone 34 points 1 month ago

No, it is genuinely a good point. The fact that its use so far has been entirely limited to the two that ended WW2 was certainly not a given. Some US military leaders wanted to use nuclear weapons in Korea.

The Korean War was so soon after WW2 that the strong taboo against the use of nuclear weapons hadn't yet taken hold, and the USSR had a miniscule stockpile, so the US could genuinely have done it with limited risk to themselves. The fact that they didn't use them is a really important turning point that helped build in the taboo against their use that has so far held to this day.