Able Archer - The military exercise that almost started World War 3 - a look in the archives (269)

Dec 31, 2022

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In 1986 Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev said “Never perhaps, in the post-war decades has the situation in the world been explosive and hence more difficult and unfavourable as in the first half of the 1980s. “

He was referring to a period of immense tension between the Soviet Union and NATO when in 1983 a NATO exercise called Able Archer was believed to have almost accidentally started World War 3.

We delve into the Able Archer archives to talk about the most recent documents with Francesca Akhtar, a researcher whose main research interests are US Cold War foreign policy, intelligence history and defence.

Francesca has written a dissertation entitled “The most dangerous Soviet-American confrontation since the Cuban Missile Crisis?” An analysis of the origins, nature, and impact of the Able Archer 83 incident.

0:00 Introduction and context about Able Archer

1:07 Overview of Able Archer and its potential to start World War 3

2:15 Sponsor message and call for donations

3:19 The changes in Able Archer in 1983 and misconceptions

6:51 Context of shooting down of Korean airliner in 1983 and comparison with the Cuba missile crisis

10:31 Status of UK archives on Able Archer and challenges in obtaining information

14:11 Discussion on the cancellation of Able Archer in 1990 and continuation despite potential misunderstandings

21:11 Introduction to the revealing documents in the February state department release and discussion on Perroots' letter

32:11 The letter that sparked an investigation and possible preemptive strike

35:03 Post-exercise NSA message, Soviet readiness, and criticism of US intelligence

41:17 Soviet side and access to information and concluding remarks on the Cold War scare

47:16 Acknowledgement of the episode extras and appreciation of financial supporters

48:30 Closing remarks and promotion of the Cold War Conversations store

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Regular listeners will remember that Francesca talked about Able Archer 83 previously in Episode 19.

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