![]() ![]() As an aid to American diplomacy, however, the possession of atomic weapons proved of little value. Indeed there is reason to suspect that the real purpose in using them was less to force a Japanese defeat than to warn the Soviet Union to be amenable to American wishes in the construction of the postwar world. The rapid surrender of Japan in 1945 certainly suggested that the United States possessed the most decisive of weapons. Did Cold War leaders act irrationally through fear and distrust? Or was there a degree of rationality and reason behind the colossal arms build-up? A New Superweapon? Stockpiles of fearsome weapons were built up to levels far beyond any conceivable purpose, and only seemed to add to the uncertainty and instability of the age. A single reckless leader, or even a mistake or misunderstanding, could initiate the extinction of mankind. There were widespread fears that humanity could not survive. An entire generation grew up under the shadow of imminent catastrophe. This lasted until the signing of the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty of November 1990. ![]() The destruction of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by American atomic weapons in August 1945 began an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. ![]()
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