In December 1988, agreement had been reached among Angola, Cuba and the United States for the withdrawal of 50,000 Cuban troops from Angola, followed the next year by a cease-fire agreement there.

The withdrawal of the Cuban forces opened the way to the implementation of the United Nations independence plan for Namibia, which until then had been ruled by South Africa under a League of Nations mandate. The successful independence of Namibia in 1990 showed that positive outcomes could be achieved through negotiations, even with one’s bitterest enemies.

And the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and the collapse of Soviet communism had created a completely new global strategic environment, removing one of South Africa’s central concerns. I realized that there would never again be so favorable an opportunity for negotiations with our regional neighbors, so my colleagues and I did not hesitate to act.

Under these circumstances, it no longer made any sense for South Africa to retain its limited nuclear weapons capability — if, indeed, it had ever made sense. In 1989, as president, I made the decision to dismantle South Africa’s atom bombs.