30+ Years of Freedom of Information Action

Briefing Books

“Briefing Books” are one-stop resources covering a full range of topics in U.S. foreign policy. Containing from 5 to 100+ documents, each briefing book features an introductory essay, individual document descriptions, related photo or video content, plus links for further reading.

U.S. Officials Hoped Chinese Liberalization Program for Tibet in Early 1980s Would Bring Significant Improvements
Feb 28, 2013 | Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., February 28, 2013 – U.S.
U.S. Detected Indian Nuclear Test Preparations in 1995, but Photo Evidence was "Clear As Mud"
Feb 22, 2013 | Briefing Book
The Clinton Administration and the Indian Nuclear Test That Didn't Happen — 1995-1996 Washington, D.C., February 22, 2013 – In the last months of 1995, U.S intelligence agencies detected signs of...
Oscars: Declassified Tell History Behind Best Foreign Film Nomination, "NO"
Feb 22, 2013 | Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., February 22, 2013 – Chilean ruler General Augusto Pinochet intended to use violence to annul the October 1988 plebiscite that ended his lengthy military dictatorship, according to...
Alan Gross Case Spotlights U.S. Democracy Programs in Cuba
Jan 18, 2013 | Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., January 18, 2013 – The U.S.
The Zero Dark Thirty File
Jan 17, 2013 | Briefing Book
Washington, DC, January 17, 2013 – The poster for the blockbuster movie Zero Dark Thirty features black lines of redaction over the title, which unintentionally illustrate the most accurate take-away...
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Was Not a Grand Design But a Grand Entanglement Resulting from Faulty Intelligence, Excessive Secrecy, and a Paralyzed Leadership, According to Conference of Former Decision-Makers
Dec 21, 2012 | Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., December 21, 2012 – On December 12, 1979, the Soviet Politburo gathered to formally approve the decision made several days earlier to send a "limited contingent" of Soviet forces...
Lifting the Veil on Colombia's "Emerald Czar"
Dec 21, 2012 | Briefing Book
Colombian Army "Facilitated" Paramilitary Operation at Miraflores "From Beginning to End" "Big-Time Narco" Carranza one of the "Best Known" Paramilitaries in Colombia but "Content to Operate Behind...
The Jonathan Pollard Spy Case: The CIA's 1987 Damage Assessment Declassified
Dec 14, 2012 | Briefing Book
Washington, DC, December 14, 2012 – When Naval Investigative Service analyst Jonathan Pollard spied for Israel in 1984 and 1985, his Israeli handlers asked primarily for nuclear, military and...
U.S. Had Plans for "Full Nuclear Response" In Event President Killed or Disappeared during an Attack on the United States
Dec 12, 2012 | Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., December 12, 2012 – As late as 1968, the U.S.
Outdated Agency Regs Undermine Freedom of Information
Dec 4, 2012 | Briefing Book
IN THE NEWS Updated December 6, 2012 Agencies lag on transparency, report says By Josh Hicks, The Washington Post, December 4, 2012 Federal Agencies Are Failing to Uphold Obama's Stated Commitment to...
Declassified Documents Trace U.S. Policy Shifts on Use of Commercial Satellite Imagery from 1970s to Today
Nov 27, 2012 | Briefing Book
Washington, DC, November 27, 2012 – In the forty years since the first launch of a commercial imagery satellite – LANDSAT – in 1972, U.S. official policy has shifted dramatically from imposing...
Declassified Pentagon History Provides Hair-Raising Scenarios of U.S. Vulnerabilities to Nuclear Attack through 1970s
Nov 19, 2012 | Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., November 19, 2012 – For decades, U.S. command-control-and-communications (C3) systems were deeply vulnerable to nuclear attack, according to a recently declassified Pentagon study.
Global Competition and the Deterioration of U.S.-Soviet Relations, 1977-1980
Nov 12, 2012 | Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., November 12, 2012 – The U.S.-Soviet rivalry in the Third World created splits within the Carter administration and fundamental confusion in the Kremlin over the nature of U.S.
Declassified 1964 National Intelligence Estimate Predicts India's Bomb But Not Israel's
Nov 6, 2012 | Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., November 6, 2012 – The U.S.
Mikoyan's "Mission Impossible" in Cuba: New Soviet Evidence on the Cuban Missile Crisis
Oct 27, 2012 | Briefing Book
Washington, DC, October 27, 2012 – The Cuban Missile Crisis continued long after the "13 days" celebrated by U.S. media, with U.S.
The Underwater Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet Submarines and the Risk of Nuclear War
Oct 24, 2012 | Briefing Book
Washington, DC, October 24, 2012 – Extreme temperatures, equipment breakdowns, and the reckless deployment of nuclear torpedoes aboard Soviet submarines near the quarantine line during the Cuban...
Cuban Missile Crisis Day by Day: From the Pentagon's "Sensitive Records"
Oct 19, 2012 | Briefing Book
The Pentagon during the Cuban Missile Crisis Part II.
Pentagon Estimated 18,500 U.S. Casualties in Cuba Invasion 1962, But If Nukes Launched, "Heavy Losses" Expected
Oct 16, 2012 | Briefing Book
The Pentagon during the Cuban Missile Crisis Part I.
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan a Case of Mission Creep, According to New Book and Original Soviet Documents
Oct 13, 2012 | Briefing Book
Washington, DC, October 13, 2012 – Contrary to U.S.
Cuban Missile Crisis Revelations: Kennedy's Secret Approach to Castro
Oct 12, 2012 | Briefing Book
Washington, DC, October 12, 2012 – On the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, new documents from the Robert Kennedy papers declassified yesterday and posted today by the National Security...

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