The Able Archer 83 Sourcebook

The Soviet "War Scare" Declassified and For Real

All-Source Intelligence Report finds US-Soviet Nuclear Relations on "Hair Trigger" in 1983
Alert Air Force General acted "out of instinct, not informed guidance" to Stop Escalation of the Crisis

The 1983 War Scare Part One: "The Last Paroxysm" of the Cold War

Soviet "Huffing and Puffing?" "Crying Wolf?" "Rattling Pots and Pans?" or "A Real Worry That We Could Come into Conflict through Miscalculation?"

The 1983 War Scare Part Two: Able Archer 83 Declassified

"Blue's use of nuclear weapons did not stop Orange's aggression." Able Archer 83 Declassified

The 1983 War Scare Part Three: "A rather stunning array of Indicators"

"Rather Stunning Array of Indicators" of the Soviet Reaction to Able Archer 83 had "A Dimension of Genuineness ... Often Not Reflected in Intelligence Issuances."

Able Archer 83: The Secret History of the NATO Exercise That Almost Triggered Nuclear War

by Nate Jones with a forward by Tom Blanton.

Why The Key Able Archer 83 Report Should Be Released Under UK FOIA

The first comprehensive report on the 1983 War Scare, “The Detection of Soviet Preparations for War Against NATO” warned that a November 1983 nuclear release exercise called Able Archer 83 could have spooked the Soviets into a preemptive nuclear attack against the West. Despite this document's importance, its contents remain unavailable to the public, withheld by the British Cabinet Office. The National Security Archive continues to fight for its release.

The Able Archer 83 Onsite Collection

The physical Able Archer 83 collection, onsite at the National Security Archive, contains unpublished primary and secondary sources related to the 1983 War Scare.