"Suppose Germany had developed two bombs before we had any bombs. And suppose Germany had dropped one bomb, say, on Rochester and the other on Buffalo, and then having run out of bombs she would have lost the war. Can anyone doubt that we would then have defined the dropping of atomic bombs on cities as a war crime, and that we would have sentenced the Germans who were guilty of this crime to death at Nuremberg and hanged them? ... The only conclusion we can draw is that governments acting in a crisis are guided by questions of expediency, and moral considerations are given very little weight, and that America is no different from any other nation in this respect."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Leó Szilárd, Interview, "President Truman Did Not Understand", U.S. News & World Report (August 15, 1960)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nuclear_war
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Nuclear war
59 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Nuclear war →
Related Quotes
"In the map of nearly every country of the world three or four more red circles, a score of miles in diameter, mark th…"
"If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been see…"
"This revelation of the secrets of nature, long mercifully withheld from man, should arouse the most solemn reflection…"
"The news today about "Atomic bombs" is so horrifying one is stunned. ... Such explosives in men's hands, while their …"
"... the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable…"
"One must expect a war between U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. which will begin with the total destruction of London. I think the …"
"What a curious picture it is to find man, homo sapiens, of divine origin, we are told, seriously considering going un…"
"Had I known that the Germans would not succeed in producing an atomic bomb, I would not have lifted a finger."
"We have men of science, too few men of God. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mo…"
"Man has mounted science, and is now run away with. I firmly believe that before many centuries more, science will be …"