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

Cold War Conversations

Ian Sanders

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

4.8 • 758 Ratings

🗓️ 31 December 2022

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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 Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ Regular listeners will remember that Francesca talked about Able Archer 83 previously in Episode 19. The battle to preserve Cold War history is ongoing and your support can provide me with the ammunition to continue to keep this podcast on the air. Via a simple monthly donation, you’ll become part of our community and get a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank you and you’ll bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link. View the actual Able Archer intelligence briefing documents here as well as videos, and extra information https://coldwarconversations.com/episode269/ Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
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0:35.4	This report stated that the alert had been ordered by the chief of the Soviet air forces,
0:41.3	Marshal Kutnikov, and that's all units of the Soviet War's Air Army were involved in the
0:47.0	alert. This included preparations for immediate use of nuclear weapons.
0:53.5	This is Cold War Conversations.
0:57.1	If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War
1:01.8	history accounts.
1:03.5	Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app or join our emailing list at cold warconversations.com.
1:12.5	In 1986, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said,
1:17.1	Never perhaps in the post-war decades has the situation in the world been explosive
1:22.4	and hence more difficult and unfavourable as in the first half of the 1980s.
1:29.6	He was referring to a period of immense tension between the Soviet Union and NATO,
1:35.2	when in 1983 a NATO exercise called Abel Archer was believed to have almost accidentally started
1:42.3	World War III.
	...

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