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In August 1945, nuclear weapon scientists became heroes. The U.S.
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki signaled the end to a long
and bloody world war.
The scientific expertise that gave birth to the Bomb has also helped secure nuclear weapons and weapons-usable materials. During the Manhattan Project, the United States sent scientists throughout Europe to stop Nazi Germany from building the Bomb. This dual role continued throughout the Cold War, as the national weapons laboratories maintained the U.S. nuclear deterrent while simultaneously developing the means to verify the arms control treaties that imposed a degree of stability on the superpower arms race.
This article appears in full on CFR.org by permission of its original publisher. It was originally available here.
