Thread by @AtomicAnalyst

30 years ago tonight, Pres. George H.W. Bush ordered the unilateral elimination of all land-based US nuclear weapons in Europe and S. Korea, all naval tactical nuclear weapons, the end of ground alert for all bombers, and the immediate de-alerting of all 450 Minuteman II ICBMs.

This sweeping move—which was fully supported by US military leaders—was unprecedented and came as a complete surprise to almost everyone. “America must lead again as it always has, as only it can,” said President Bush. Here's why he announced these dramatic changes when he did:

And here’s what those momentous orders looked like as transmitted to Strategic Air Command:

Thanks to these unilateral cuts and the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, in just four years in office President Bush reduced the bloated US nuclear stockpile by 41% (9,487 warheads), the largest reductions by any president and a generally unheralded achievement, even today.

As Bush had hoped, Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev offered a detailed reciprocal response in a televised address to the nation on October 5, 1991. On January 29, 1992, Russia's new president, Boris Yeltsin, reaffirmed and expanded on Gorbachev's statement in his own address.

For more on what came to be known as the Presidential Nuclear Initiatives, see nti.org/analysis/artic… and ndupress.ndu.edu/portals/68/doc….