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Ramos-Horta, Arias Urge Obama to Visit Hiroshima
Posted 8/27/2010 at 3:10 PM by Bradlee A in Community Blog
Affiliate: PeaceJam HQ

Nobel Peace Laureates José Ramos-Horta and Oscar Arias signed a letter urging President Barack Obama to make a visit to Hiroshima later this year. A visit to the city would be unprecedented, as no sitting president of the United States has ever visited where a U.S. bomb killed over 140,000 people.

The letter to Obama was signed by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, Lech Walesa of Poland, former South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk, East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta and former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez.

In their letter to Obama, the peace laureates said that they were encouraged by his determination to eliminate nuclear weapons, and urged him to join them in paying respects to those who died in the Aug. 6, 1945, attack.

Read the full article at the Washington Examiner by clicking here.

We want to know what you think. Was the United States' dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima a use of excessive and unnecessary force? Or did it save lives by ending the war sooner?

Leave your thoughts below in a comment, and help PeaceJam out by sharing this story with your friends on Facebook and Twitter!


And for more information on PeaceJam's Global Call to Action issue Controlling the Proliferation of Weapons, click here.
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Dawn E wrote:
It would be a good thing to honor the memory of everyone who lost their lives in WWII, I think.
posted 8/28/2010 at 10:40 AM
Bradlee A wrote:
I definitely think that the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan were more about showing the militaristic dominance of the U.S. It showed that the big stick we carry ("Speak softly and carry a big stick." Teddy Roosevelt), is more than just big, it's massive. It showed the world that we mean business and we're not to be messed with, which is a horrible, bully-like, message to send.

I think this would be a great step to not only heal that region of the terror they endured, but to also reduce the amount of nuclear weapons in the world.

Obama, go to Hiroshima!

posted 8/30/2010 at 2:40 PM
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