“In a nuclear war the collateral damage would be the life of humankind. Let us have the courage to proclaim that all nuclear or conventional weapons, everything that is used to make war, must disappear.“ –Fidel Castro

Bock’s car, a B-29 bomber, flown by Major Charles W. Sweeney dropped the “Fat Man” on Nagasaki on this day 73 years ago.

The world we live in is a complex web of ironies. The most vocal nation on earth against countries determined to achieve nuclear potential is the only one that has nuked another country not once but twice. On this day in 1945, the United States dropped another atom bomb on Japan at Nagasaki. The devastation caused by the bombing of its two cities, Japan surrendered unconditionally.

Nagasaki was targeted for it was a shipbuilding center, the very industry intended for destruction. The explosion unleashed the equivalent force of 22,000 tons of TNT. The hills that surrounded the city did a better job of containing the destructive force, but the number killed is estimated at anywhere between 60,000 and 80,000 (exact figures are impossible, the blast having obliterated bodies and disintegrated records).

While supporters claim this act was a way to expedite the end of the war, many criticize the bombing as unnecessary, and believe that these attacks constituted a war crime or genocide. But to be honest, it is one of many such war crimes that America has committed to maintain its unique status in the global affairs, i.e., the only Empire at present and creator of a unipolar world order.