{"id":43589,"date":"2023-08-19T07:00:50","date_gmt":"2023-08-19T15:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=43589"},"modified":"2023-08-20T15:43:16","modified_gmt":"2023-08-20T23:43:16","slug":"oppenheimer-hero-making-a-mountain-out-of-a-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/19\/oppenheimer-hero-making-a-mountain-out-of-a-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"Oppenheimer<\/I> Hero: Making a Mountain Out of a Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reprinted with permission from Greg Mitchell\u2019s newsletter Oppenheimer: From Hiroshima to Hollywood<\/a>.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Today we present, for the first time, a guest contribution from someone I\u2019ve known, if from a distance, for quite some time. Gene Dannen posted what follows as a Twitter (excuse me, an \u201cX\u201d) thread yesterday and I was so intrigued I asked him if I could use it, slightly adapted, here. Gene, who lives in Oregon, has researched and written about the life of Leo Szilard for many years, along with the decision to use the bombs<\/a> in 1945. Now read this. Then subscribe if you have not, it\u2019s still free!<\/em><\/p>\n

By Gene Dannen<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Fact-checking the Oppenheimer<\/em> Film:<\/p>\n

Lewis Strauss didn\u2019t lose his confirmation hearings because of his persecution of Robert Oppenheimer, as the movie portrays it. I have Nolan\u2019s screenplay, and a PDF of the full transcript of the hearings.<\/p>\n

Strauss\u2019 hearings are mentioned in a single paragraph in the book American Prometheus<\/em>, on which the movie is based. They are a major, repeating central theme throughout the movie, as it shifts back and forth in time. It would be hard to exaggerate how much of the screenplay, and the movie, is taken up by the Strauss hearings.<\/p>\n

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As Nolan tells it, the testimony of one scientist leads to Strauss\u2019 downfall and Oppenheimer\u2019s vindication.<\/p>\n

In the movie, Strauss is doomed by the testimony of David L. Hill, who devastatingly lays out Strauss\u2019 unethical persecution of Oppenheimer. Hill becomes a modern-day David who single-handedly slays Strauss\u2019 Goliath.<\/p>\n

Hill\u2019s testimony in the movie is based on the transcript, but edited and arranged in a way to make it appear that he focused on Oppenheimer. He didn\u2019t, and his testimony wasn\u2019t the key factor in the hearings as Nolan portrays it.<\/p>\n

He was a theoretical physicist on leave from Los Alamos, and former chairman of the Federation of American Scientists. Hill really did testify \u2013 courageously and impressively \u2013 against the powerful Strauss.<\/p>\n

Strauss was unfit, Hill said, for many reasons \u2014 ONLY ONE of which was his treatment of Oppenheimer.<\/p>\n

Among the reasons were:<\/p>\n

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  1. his opposition to shipping isotopes abroad<\/li>\n
  2. Keeping radioactive fallout data secret<\/li>\n
  3. withholding seismic monitoring data to prevent an underground testing treaty<\/li>\n
  4. Making false claims about efforts to develop a \u201cclean bomb\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    David R. Inglis, a theoretical physicist at Argonne National Laboratory and chairman of the Federation of American Scientists, also testified. The Federation council had voted overwhelmingly to oppose the nomination. Inglis emphasized that Strauss had unilaterally opposed arms control and committed the country to ever-increasing bomb building and a nuclear arms race, thereby actually endangering America\u2019s security.<\/p>\n

    Senators supporting Strauss attacked Hill and Inglis, accusing them of communist sympathies. Their tactics were reminiscent of the McCarthy era, and those used in Oppenheimer\u2019s own hearing.<\/p>\n

    A much more prominent witness was Senator Clinton Anderson. As Chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, he had long been troubled by Strauss\u2019 conduct. He urged investigation of Strauss\u2019 entire record.<\/p>\n

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    The totality of Strauss\u2019 past actions brought him down. He also brought himself down as he attempted to justify himself \u2013 by his false statements and evasions, his arrogance and self-righteousness. Strauss\u2019 role in stripping Oppenheimer of his security clearance was only one factor among many.<\/p>\n

    The behind-the-scenes dialogue between Strauss and his aide appears to be solely the product of Nolan\u2019s imagination.<\/p>\n

    Bottom line:<\/em><\/p>\n

    Nolan\u2019s version of the Strauss hearings can\u2019t be regarded as factual. His emphasis on them is also completely out of proportion to their minor significance in Oppenheimer\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

    Just published: an expanded edition of my book Atomic Cover-up<\/a>, now with several thousand words of mine re:<\/strong><\/em> Oppenheimer<\/strong>. And it\u2019s on sale as an ebook for just $3.99 (vs. $11.95 for the paperback). Also learned this month my film of the same name coming to PBS starting in November.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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    Thanks for reading Oppenheimer: From Hiroshima to Hollywood! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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