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 1983 War Scare: "The Last Paroxysm" of the Cold War Part I
| Briefing Book
Related Links New Documents Reveal How a 1980s Nuclear War Scare Became a Full-Blown Crisis By Robert Beckhusen, Wired, May 16, 2013 The USSR and US Came Closer to Nuclear War Than We Thought…
The Final Battle: Ríos Montt's Counterinsurgency Campaign
| Briefing Book
After weeks of powerful testimony and excruciating procedural wrangling, the trial of former Guatemalan dictator Efraнn Rнos Montt and his intelligence chief Josй Rodrнguez Sбnchez on charges of…
National Security Agency Tasked with Targeting Adversaries' Computers for Attack Since Early 1997, According to Declassified Document
| Briefing Book
Since at least 1997, the National Security Agency (NSA) has been responsible for developing ways to attack hostile computer networks as part of the growing field of Information Warfare (IW),…
China May Have Helped Pakistan Nuclear Weapons Design, Newly Declassified Intelligence Indicates
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., April 23, 2013 – China was exporting nuclear materials to Third World countries without safeguards beginning in the early 1980s, and may have given Pakistan weapons design…
The Thatcher-Gorbachev Conversations
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., April 12, 2013 – Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister who passed away this week, built a surprising mutual-admiration relationship with the Soviet leader Mikhail…
Reading the North Korean Tea Leaves: The Perpetual Struggle to Fathom Pyongyang's Motives and Goals
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., April 11, 2013 – For decades, the erratic behavior of North Korea's enigmatic leaders has often masked a mix of symbolic and pragmatic motives, according to declassified documents…
Freedom of Information Follies: FOIA Reviewers Declassify Same Rwanda Document Four Times, Creating New Secrets Each Time
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., April 3, 2013 – The U.S.
Indicted for Genocide: Guatemala's Efraín Ríos Montt
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., March 19, 2013 – The groundbreaking genocide trial of Efraнn Rнos Montt, retired army general and former dictator of Guatemala, opens today with the presentation of the prosecution'…
The Iraq War Ten Years After
| Briefing Book
Archive Electronic Briefing Books Cited in This Posting THE IRAQ WAR -- PART II: Was There Even a Decision? October 1, 2010 THE IRAQ WAR -- PART I: The U.S. Prepares for Conflict, 2001 September 22…
Freedom of Information Regulations: Still Outdated, Still Undermining Openness
| Briefing Book, | FOIA Audit
IN THE NEWS 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 Transparency By Rebecca…
Operation Condor on Trial: Legal Proceedings on Latin America Rendition and Assassination Program Open in Buenos Aires
| Briefing Book
Related Links Una justicia que trasciende las fronteras Por Alejandra Dandan, March, 6 2013 STOLEN BABIES: Argentina Convicts Two Military Dictators July 5, 2012 Kissinger Blocked Demarche on…
State Department Intelligence and Research Predicted 1973 Arab-Israeli War
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., March 5, 2013 – The fabled but previously secret State Department intelligence memorandum that predicted, five months in advance, the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, has now emerged from…
U.S. Officials Hoped Chinese Liberalization Program for Tibet in Early 1980s Would Bring Significant Improvements
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., February 28, 2013 – U.S.
Oscars: Declassified Tell History Behind Best Foreign Film Nomination, "NO"
| 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…
U.S. Detected Indian Nuclear Test Preparations in 1995, but Photo Evidence was "Clear As Mud"
| 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…
Alan Gross Case Spotlights U.S. Democracy Programs in Cuba
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., January 18, 2013 – The U.S.
The Zero Dark Thirty File
| 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…
The Jonathan Pollard Spy Case: The CIA's 1987 Damage Assessment Declassified
| 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…
Space-Based Early Warning: From MIDAS to DSP to SBIRS
| Briefing Book
Washington D.C., January 8, 2013 - As the United States prepares to transition this month from Cold War-era missile detection programs to a more sophisticated infrared platform, recently declassified…
Space-Based Early Warning: From MIDAS to DSP to SBIRS
| Briefing Book
Washington D.C., November 9, 2007 - In anticipation of the planned launch of the final Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite tomorrow evening, which was originally scheduled to be orbited in…