US military apologizes for New Year's Eve tweet about dropping bombs

On New Year's Eve, the United States Strategic Command tweeted a video of a stealth bomber dropping two bombs. The tweet referred the ball drop during the annual New Year's Eve celebration in New York City and promised that, "if needed," the U.S. military was prepared to "drop something much, much bigger."

The tweet was soon deleted, and an apology was promptly issued.

Here's what we know

The now-deleted tweet stated:

#TimesSquare 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! @AFGlobalStrike @Whitman_AFB #Deterrence #Assurance #CombatReadyForce #PeaceIsOurProfession.

The tweet also contained a video of a B-2 stealth bomber dropping GPS-guided bombs, with the words "STEALTH," "READY," and "LETHAL" flashing across the screen at intervals.

According to the New York Times, the video was viewed more than 120,000 times before it was deleted.

After deleting the initial tweet, Strategic Command tweeted

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

"We admittedly erred in connecting it to New Year's Eve festivities, and we apologize," U.S. Strategic Command spokeswoman Meghan M. Liemburg-Archer said, according to the Washington Post. "We remain dedicated to the security of America and our allies."

What is the U.S. Strategic Command?

According to its official website:

The mission of USSTRATCOM is to deter strategic attack and employ forces, as directed, to guarantee the security of our Nation and our Allies. The command's assigned responsibilities include strategic deterrence; nuclear operations; space operations; joint electronic spectrum operations; global strike; missile defense; and analysis and targeting. USSTRATCOM's forces and capabilities underpin and enable all other Joint Force operations.