On this day – January 2, 1980

On January 2nd, 1980, President Jimmy Carter asked the Senate to halt any action on the SALT II Program (nuclear weapons treaty agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union). This came in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December of 1979. By postponing SALT II, Jimmy Carter and the United States made it clear that the friendly, detente relationship between America and the Soviet Union had come to an end. This also led to a halt of exports, such as grains and technology, to the USSR, as well as a boycott by American athletes of the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow.