The Brink : President Reagan and the Nuclear War Scare of 1983

The incredible story of the 1983 war game that triggered a tense, brittle period of nuclear brinkmanship between the United States and the former Soviet Union. What happened in 1983 to make the Soviet Union so afraid of a potential nuclear strike from the United States that they sent mobile ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) into the field, placing them on a three-minute alert' Marc Ambinder explains the anxious period between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1982 to 1984, with the "Able Archer '83" war game as the fulcrum of the tension. With astonishing and clarifying new details, he recounts the scary series of the close encounters that tested the limits of ordinary humans and powerful leaders alike. Ambinder explains how political leadership ultimately triumphed over misunderstandings, helping the two countries maintain a fragile peace. Ambinder provides a comprehensive and chilling account of the nuclear command and control process, from intelligence warnings to the composition of the nuclear codes themselves. And he affords glimpses into the secret world of a preemptive electronic attack that scared the Soviet Union into action. Ambinder's account reads like a thriller, recounting the spy-versus-spy games that kept both countries'and the world'in check. From geopolitics in Moscow and Washington, to sweat-caked soldiers fighting in the trenches of the Cold War, to high-stakes war games across NATO and the Warsaw Pact, The Brink serves as the definitive intelligence, nuclear, and national security history of one of the most precarious times in recent memory In 1983, U.s.-soviet Relations Appeared To Be In An Uncontrollable Free Fall. It Was The Year Ronald Reagan Called The Soviet Union An Evil Empire, Announced The Strategic Defense Initiative, And Obtained Permission From Western European Governments To Deploy Intermediate Nuclear Forces (inf) On Their Soil. The Soviet Government Retaliated By Walking Out Of The Inf And Strategic Arms Reductions Talks. Yet, Just Two Years Later, Reagan And New Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev Held Their First Summit And Jointly Declared That A Nuclear War Cannot Be Won And Must Never Be Fought. Between 1988 And 1991, Peaceful Revolutions Spread Throughout Eastern Europe As The Warsaw Pact Nations Embraced Democracy. These Historic Events Defied Widespread Expectations, As Many Experts Expected The Cold War To End With A Nuclear War. Why Were They Proved Wrong? The Essays In This Collection Offer Illuminating Insights Into The Key Players - Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, And Others - And The Monumental Events That Led To The Collapse Of Communism. The Expert Contributors Examine The End Of Detente And The Beginning Of The New Phase Of The Cold War In The Early 1980s, Reagan's Radical New Strategies Aimed At Changing Soviet Behavior, The Peaceful Democratic Revolutions In Poland And Hungary, The Events That Brought About The Reunification Of Germany, The Role Of Events In Third World Countries, The Critical Contributions Of Gorbachev And Yeltsin, And More.--jacket. The End Of Détente And The Reformulation Of American Strategy, 1980-1983 / Jack F. Matlock Jr. -- The Crisis That Didn't Erupt : The Soviet-american Relationship, 1980-1983 / Oleg Grinevsky -- Gorbachev's Foreign Policy : The Concept / Anatoly Cherniaev -- Soviet-american Relations In The Third World / Georgy Mirsky -- Europe Between The Superpowers / Robert L. Hutchings -- German Unification / Philip Zelikow And Condoleezza Rice -- Boris Yeltsin : Catalyst For The Cold War's End / Michael Mcfaul. Edited By Kiron K. Skinner ; Forewords By Pavel Palazhchenko And George P. Shultz. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "An informative and often enthralling book...in the appealing style of Tom Clancy" ( Kirkus Reviews ) about the 1983 war game that triggered a tense, brittle period of nuclear brinkmanship between the United States and the former Soviet Union. What happened in 1983 to make the Soviet Union so afraid of a potential nuclear strike from the United States that they sent mobile ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) into the field, placing them on a three-minute alert Marc Ambinder explains the anxious period between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1982 to 1984, with the "Able Archer '83" war game at the center of the tension. With astonishing and clarifying new details, he recounts the scary series of the close encounters that tested the limits of ordinary humans and powerful leaders alike. Ambinder provides a comprehensive and chilling account of the nuclear command and control process, from intelligence warnings to the composition of the nuclear codes themselves. And he affords glimpses into the secret world of a preemptive electronic attack that scared the Soviet Union into action. Ambinder's account reads like a thriller, recounting the spy-versus-spy games that kept both countries—and the world—in check. From geopolitics in Moscow and Washington, to sweat-caked soldiers fighting in the trenches of the Cold War, to high-stakes war games across NATO and the Warsaw Pact, "Ambinder's account of a serious threat of global annihilation...is spellbinding...a masterpiece of recent history" ( Publishers Weekly , starred review). The Brink serves as the definitive intelligence, nuclear, and national security history of one of the most precarious times in recent memory and "shows the consequences of nuclear buildups, sometimes-careless language, and nervous leaders. Now, more than ever, those consequences matter" ( USA TODAY ). "The Cold War's most dangerous moment: a high-stakes and secretive game of nuclear brinksmanship that played out in the forests of Germany, in stealthy submarines underneath the Atlantic and Pacific, in hidden London compounds, in fortified bunkers and code rooms across the globe. The year was 1983. The world was on the brink. And American spies were missing the warning signals. Marc Ambinder explains the anxious period between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1982 to 1984, with the Able Archer 83 war game as the fulcrum of the tension. With astonishing and clarifying new details, he recounts the scary series of close encounters that tested the limits of ordinary men and powerful leaders. Ambinder explains how political leadership triumphed over misunderstandings and the strife of interests, helping the two countries work toward a fragile peace. The Brink provides one of the most comprehensive and chilling descriptions of the nuclear command and control process, from intelligence warnings to the composition of the nuclear codes themselves. Ambinder reveals, with significant new reporting, the full story of the much-whispered-about continuity of government program that President Reagan built up to give the presidency a chance to survive a bolt-from-the-blue attack. He also provides glimpses into the secret world of preemptive electronic attack that scared the Soviet Union into action. Ambinder's account reads like a thriller, as it recounts the spy-versus-spy games that kept both countries--and the world--in check. From geopolitics in Moscow and Washington, to sweat-caked soldiers fighting in the trenches of the Cold War, to high-stakes war games across NATO and the Warsaw Pact, this book serves as the definitive intelligence, nuclear, and national security history of one of the most precarious times in recent memory."--Jacket An account of the tense relations between the United States and the Soviet Union during Ronald Reagan's first presidential term. On Nov. 7, 1983, NATO commenced a five-day military exercise called Able Archer 83. In simulating a Warsaw Pact invasion of Western Europe and a NATO nuclear response, Able Archer scared the Soviet Union into believing that an actual U.S.-led attack was imminent. Thus the Russians readied their nuclear forces and placed military units in Eastern Europe on alert, bringing the two superpowers to the edge of war. Ambinder (co-author: Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry, 2013), a former White House correspondent and TV producer, chronicles the road to this near catastrophe. In relating incidents such as Reagan's "evil empire" speech, the Soviet Union's shooting down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, and the installation of Pershing II missiles in Western Europe, the author skillfully places the Able Archer exercise within the context of the fraught Cold War atmosphere of the early 1980s. He also persuasively argues that a key to the easing of this tension was Reagan's belated understanding that Russian distrust was rooted in the fact that, as the president noted in his diary, "many people at the top of the Soviet hierarchy were genuinely afraid of America and Americans." The Incredible Story Of The 1983 War Game That Triggered A Tense, Brittle Period Of Nuclear Brinkmanship Between The United States And The Former Soviet Union. Part I: Decapitation -- D�etente's Rise And Fall -- Toward Protracted Nuclear War -- Decapitation -- Man In The Gap -- Project Ryan -- Warning -- Zero-zero -- Ivy League '82 -- Bogging Down -- The View From London -- Part Ii: To The Brink -- 1983 -- The Evil Empire -- Sdi And Sabotage -- Provocations -- Diamonds -- Spy Vs. Spy -- Green Shoots -- The Phantom (part I) -- The Phantom (part Ii) -- The Day Before The Day After -- Able Archer 83 -- Flash Telegram -- Validate And Authenticate -- Open Hatches -- Part Iii: Endgame(s) -- Sacrifice -- Warning Of War -- Ivan And Anya -- What Did We Miss? -- Arguing On Behalf Of Soviet Fears -- How Can This Be? -- Roll The Dice -- A New Hope, But Still, Star Wars? -- Not To Miss The Chance -- To Geneva -- Epilogue. Marc Ambinder. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 301-308) And Index. Part I. Decapitation. Détente's rise and fall ; Toward protracted nuclear war ; Decapitation ; Man in the gap ; Project RYAN ; Warning ; Zero-zero ; Ivy League '82 ; Bogging down ; The view from London -- Part II. To the brink. 1983 ; The Evil Empire ; SDI and sabotage ; Provocations ; Diamonds ; Spy vs. spy ; Green shoots ; The Phantom (part I) ; The Phantom (part II) ; The day before the day after ; Able Archer 83 ; FLASH telegram ; Validate and authenticate ; Open hatches -- Part III. Endgame(s). Sacrifice ; Warning of war ; Ivan and Anya ; What did we miss? ; Arguing on behalf of Soviet fears ; How can this be? ; Roll the dice ; A new hope : but still, Star Wars? ; Not to miss the chance ; To Geneva Part I: Decapitation Détente's rise and fall Toward protracted nuclear war Decapitation Man in the gap Project RYAN Warning Zero-zero Ivy League '82 Bogging down The view from London Part II: To the brink 1983 The Evil Empire SDI and sabotage Provocations Diamonds Spy vs. spy Green shoots The Phantom (part I) The Phantom (part II) The day before the day after Able Archer 83 FLASH telegram Validate and authenticate Open hatches Part III: Endgame(s) Sacrifice Warning of war Ivan and Anya What did we miss? Arguing on behalf of Soviet fears How can this be? Roll the dice A new hope, but still, star wars? Not to miss the chance To Geneva Epilogue. The expert contributors examine the end of détente and the beginning of the new phase of the cold war in the early 1980s, Reagan's radical new strategies aimed at changing Soviet behavior, the peaceful democratic revolutions in Poland and Hungary, the events that brought about the reunification of Germany, the role of events in Third World countries, the critical contributions of Gorbachev and Yeltsin, and more.