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.
The Yuri Orlov File
| Briefing Book
Washington, DC, August 13, 2014 – Marking the 90th birthday of the human rights legend and distinguished physicist Yuri Orlov, the National Security Archive at George Washington University (www.…
The Shevardnadze File: Late Soviet Foreign Minister Helped End the Cold War
| Briefing Book
Washington, DC, July 24, 2014 – Former Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze, who passed away on July 7, brought a new diplomatic style and candor to bear in changing U.S.-Soviet relations in…
Studies by Once Top Secret Government Entity Portrayed Terrible Costs of Nuclear War
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Reports of the Net Evaluation Subcommittee Washington, D.C., July 22, 2014 – On the morning of 20 July 1961, while the Berlin Crisis was simmering, President John F.
Soldiers, Spies and the Moon: Secret U.S. and Soviet Plans from the 1950s and 1960s
| Briefing Book
Washington, DC, July 20, 2014 – Forty-five years ago, astronaut Neil Armstrong took his "one small step" for mankind, becoming the first person to set foot on the moon.
Brazil: Torture Techniques Revealed in Declassified U.S. Documents
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Washington, DC, July 8, 2014 – The Brazilian military regime employed a "sophisticated and elaborate psychophysical duress system" to "intimidate and terrify" suspected leftist militants in the early…
Iran 1953: US Envoy to Baghdad Suggested to Fleeing Shah He Not Acknowledge Foreign Role in Coup
| Briefing Book
Washington, DC, July 2, 2014 – On August 16, 1953, the same day the Shah of Iran fled to Baghdad after a failed attempt to oust Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, the agitated monarch spoke candidly…
The Battle for Iran, 1953: Re-Release of CIA Internal History Spotlights New Details about anti-Mosaddeq Coup
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Washington, DC, June 27, 2014 – During early planning for the 1953 Iran coup, U.S.
New Details on the 1961 Goldsboro Nuclear Accident
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U.S. Nuclear Weapons Safety Issues, 1957-1986 Washington, D.C., June 9, 2014 – A recently declassified report by Sandia National Laboratory, published today by the National Security Archive, provides…
The United States and the Two Koreas, Part II: 1969-2010
| Briefing Book
Washington, DC, June 5, 2014 – During the North Korean nuclear crisis of the 1990s, the United States and South Korea shared blunt concerns about the possible outbreak of military hostilities with…
Tiananmen at 25 Years
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Washington, DC, June 3, 2014 – Significant cleavages existed within the Chinese political leadership and security apparatus over the decision to use force against student protesters at Tiananmen…
Inside the UN Security Council: April–July 1994
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EXPERT OPINION Declassified U.N. Cables Reveal Turning Point in Rwanda Crisis of 1994 By Mark Landler, The New York Times, June 3, 2014 The United Nations Security Council in Rwanda By Michael…
Anatoly S. Chernyaev Diary, 1974
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Previous Chernyaev Diary Postings The Diary of Anatoly Chernyaev, 1973 Eigth Installment of Former Top Soviet Adviser's Journal Available in English for First Time
U.S. Covert Intervention in Chile: Planning to Block Allende Began Long before September 1970 Election
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Washington, DC, May 23, 2014 – Covert U.S.
Rwanda: The Failure of the Arusha Peace Accords
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Washington, DC, May 21, 2014 – The Arusha Accords, a peace agreement between the Rwandan government and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) signed in August 1993, failed in the worst way peace accords…
Iran 1953: The Strange Odyssey of Kermit Roosevelt's Countercoup
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Washington, DC, May 12, 2014 – As the Iranian revolution crested in 1978-1979, the CIA approved a memoir by Kermit Roosevelt, one of the architects of the 1953 coup against Iran's nationalist prime…
Declassified Documents Show Henry Kissinger's Major Role in the 1974 Initiative That Created the Nuclear Suppliers Group
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., April 21, 2014– Henry Kissinger played a slightly reluctant but nonetheless highly influential role in establishing the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in the mid-1970s, motivated…
Sitreps Detail Rwanda's Descent into Genocide 1994
| Briefing Book
Washington, DC, April 7, 2014 –The complete series of daily and weekly situation reports (sitreps) written by UN peacekeepers in Rwanda — published today by the National Security Archive for the…
Brazil Marks 50th Anniversary of Military Coup
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Washington, DC, April 2, 2014 – Almost two years before the April 1, 1964, military takeover in Brazil, President Kennedy and his top aides began seriously discussing the option of overthrowing Joao…
The Rwandan Refugee Crisis: Before the Genocide
| Briefing Book
Washington, DC, March 31, 2014 – During the months leading up to the genocide in Rwanda, United Nations officials and western diplomats became increasingly concerned by the threat to political…
U.S. National Archives Web Site Uploads Hundreds of Thousands of Diplomatic Cables from 1977
| Briefing Book
Washington, DC, March 27, 2014 – In February 2014, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) posted 300,000 State Department telegrams from 1977 — the first year of the Jimmy Carter…