The US military has come under considerable condemnation for its New Year tweet, promising to drop more bombs in 2019. Faced with global outrage, the tweet, posted from the US Strategic Command twitter handle, was deleted and an apology issued.
In its ill-fated tweet, the US military had said, “#TimesSquare tradition rings in the #NewYear by dropping the big ball…if ever needed, we are #ready to drop something much, much bigger.” The tweet also include sizzle reel initially released earlier this year, showing a B-2 bomber dropping a pair of conventional Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOP) at a test range.
Later the US Strategic Command deleted its controversial tweet and issued an apology. It said, “Our previous NYE tweet was in poor taste & does not reflect our values. We apologize. We are dedicated to the security of America & allies.”
Our previous NYE tweet was in poor taste & does not reflect our values. We apologize. We are dedicated to the security of America & allies.
— US Strategic Command (@US_Stratcom) December 31, 2018
However, it did not stop the condemnation. One user perfectly summed it up for others when he wrote, “Your tweet goes beyond needing an apology. What kind of people are you letting represent you? Is this the new dystopian Trump view? You alarmed many Americans with your tweet about bombing. Including a video of a bombing is beyond just an apology, this is reprehensible.”
Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN, “I think it’s very tacky. We don’t need to be acting this way.”
The US military was widely condemned for torturing civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan after it invaded both the countries post 9/11 attacks. The latest tweet by the US Strategic Command has simply established the inhuman face and twisted value system of the American military. One guest on CNN said, “This perfectly summed up 2018 for us.”
