In 1983, a classified NATO exercise led the Soviet Union to fear a nuclear attack was imminent. The Able Archer '83 exercises, designed to train U.S. and NATO forces to manage nuclear escalation in a ...
It was an intelligence failure of a scope to vastly exceed all others, when one nuclear superpower perceived the other moving to a nuclear first strike and prepared for war, while the other missed all ...
Forty Years Ago World War III Almost Started Due to a Training Exercise – Four decades ago this past November, World War III almost started – at least it did according to some claims. Yet, it wasn’t ...
Only Slate Plus members can gift Slate stories. Become a member to share 10 free articles a month. One of the Cold War’s great mysteries is how the world survived the second week of November 1983.