About enola-gay.org
The website enola-gay.org was created to make a committee for a national discussion of
nuclear history and the current policies around it. On the landing page of the website, you can see the list of contents found on the whole site. There is also information about the committee’s petition which is circulating worldwide and the website provides a link where it can be printed and it will be delivered to the White House before the opening of the exhibit. The committee also provided the address where the completed petitions shall be sent which is at:
US-Japan Environmental Action Center
P.O. BOX 305
Washington, DC 20044-305 the USA
The website has an introduction letter which can significantly explain the reason behind why the website was made. Peter Kuznick, a
professor of history and director of the Nuclear Studies Institute, American University writes in the landing page of the website, “Dear Friend, A committee of scholars, veterans, clergy, activists, students, and other interested individuals is now forming to challenge the Smithsonian’s plans to exhibit the Enola Gay solely as a “magnificent technological achievement.” The planned exhibit is devoid not only of historical context and discussion of the ongoing controversy surrounding the bombings but even of basic information regarding the number of casualties. We have formulated the following statement of principles, which we plan to circulate widely. The statement makes clear that we are not opposed to exhibiting the plane in a fair and responsible manner, but that we fear that such a celebratory exhibit both legitimizes what happened in 1945 and helps build support for the Bush administration’s dangerous new nuclear policies. We, in fact, welcome and intend to initiate a national discussion of both the 1945 bombings and of current nuclear issues. But before we launch a public campaign and officially contact the Smithsonian, we seek endorsements of the statement from a small number of prominent individuals who can help the effort gain credibility and attract media attention. More active participation is, of course, welcome and desirable. Most immediately, though, please let us know if we can add your name to our list and how you would like to be identified.” Don’t forget to visit Criminal Lawyer News after reading this article.
Services offered at the Committee for a National Discussion of Nuclear History and Current Policy
The website offers the Statement of Principles of the committee members which highlights the following:
To welcome any exhibition that will spur an honest and balanced discussion of the atomic bombings of 1945 and of current U.S. nuclear policy.
To use the exhibit, the presidential elections, and the upcoming 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings to stimulate a national discussion of U.S. nuclear history and current policy and to work with like-minded groups in other nations.
To initiate this desperately needed national conversation on nuclear arms policy, past and present, the Committee for a National Discussion of Nuclear History and Current Policy calls upon Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lawrence Small, John Dailey, and other leaders of the Smithsonian to sit down with our representatives and those of other interested organizations and to jointly plan a balanced exhibit that places the bombings in their historical context, educate viewers about the consequences of past nuclear weapons to use, and explain the controversy surrounding the use of the atomic bombs that antedates the deployment of the Enola Gay itself.
To co-sponsor a joint conference that explores the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the place of nuclear weapons in the modern world.
To join with others in the country and around the world to protest the exhibit in its present form and to catalyze a national discussion of critical nuclear issues.
Enola-gay.org also offers a partial list of the signers of the petition which are composed mostly of professors from different universities.
The website also offers a list of related events sponsored by other organizations which are the Service Honoring the Hibakusha and the Protest the Enola Gay.
Enola-gay.org also provides resources and further reading, some of which are:
The Historians Committee for Open Debate, and Hiroshima: Was It Necessary?
In the last part, the website offers a link to their feedback form should the users wish to ask for further information.
History of Enola-gay
Recognizing the implications of the onset of the nuclear age, in 1999 a national panel of distinguished journalists and scholars voted the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the most significant news event of the 20th century. Yet, in a statement reflecting extraordinary callousness towards the victims, indifference to the deep divisions among American citizens, and utter disregard for the feelings of most of the world’s peoples, museum director Dailey declared, “We are displaying it [the Enola Gay] in all of its glory as a magnificent technological achievement.”
Enola-gay.org was last modified on December 04, 2003.
