Question

the use of this barbarous weapon at hiroshima and nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against japan. the japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender. . . . in being the first to use it, we . . . adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the dark ages. i was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children. . . . i voiced my grave misgiving, first on the basis of my belief that japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary and . . . i thought was no longer mandatory as a measure to save american lives. it was my belief that japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of \face.\ --admiral william e. leahy background information: this passage comes from the memoirs of admiral william leahy, one of president truman’s top advisers. use the highlighting tool to identify text that shows admiral leahy’s opinion of the atomic bomb. which phrase from the passage gives admiral leahy’s opinion of the atomic bomb itself? ○ \the japanese were already defeated\ ○ \in being the first to use it\ ○ \barbarous weapon\ ○ \basis of my belief\

Explanation:

The question asks for the phrase that directly expresses Admiral Leahy's opinion of the atomic bomb itself. The other options either refer to Japan's status, the act of using it first, or the basis of his belief, not the bomb's inherent nature. "barbarous weapon" directly describes the atomic bomb from his perspective.

Answer:

C. "barbarous weapon"