NEW YORK – The US Strategic Command has apologized for a New Year’s Eve tweet that served as a casual reminder of its capacity to drop catastrophic bombs, according to American media reports.
“Our previous New York Eve tweet was in poor taste & does not reflect our values,” tweeted the unified command, one of 10 at the Pentagon, which this year took responsibility for overseeing nuclear command, control and communications.
“We apologize. We are dedicated to the security of America & allies.”
https://twitter.com/US_Stratcom/status/1079881433072717824
The Monday evening message, now deleted, referred to New Year’s Eve celebrations in New York City’s iconic Times Square, where exactly a minute before the midnight, a crystal ball atop the One Times Square tower descends in a 60-second drop to mark the transition into the next year.
The US Strategic Command, however, put its own creative spin on the traditional celebration and the outcome was catastrophic.
“Times Square tradition rings in the #NewYear by dropping the big ball … if ever needed, we are #ready to drop something much, much bigger. Watch to the end!,” read the tweet, which also featured a video of a nuclear-capable B-2 bomber dropping large payloads.
Ironically, the USSTRATCOM’s twitter page features the motto: “Peace is our profession …”
The tweets came on Defence Secretary Jim Mattis’ last day in the job, after he resigned in part because of policy disagreements over Syria with President Donald Trump. Patrick Shanahan, Mattis’ deputy, will take over as acting secretary on Tuesday.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/world/us-defence-chief-jim-mattis-quits-trump-administration-over-syria-withdrawal/
The Pentagon announced that it would get a new spokesman starting Tuesday as well, Charles Summers. Current spokeswoman Dana White tweeted on Monday: “I appreciate the opportunity afforded to me by this administration to serve alongside Secretary Mattis, our Service members and all the civilians who support them. It has been my honor and privilege. Stay safe and God bless.”
