Able Archer 83: The War Game That Almost Became Real
Everyone knows the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis, generally considered to be the most dangerous moment in the Cold War. But a lesser known incident also created a scenario where one or two wrong moves might have resulted in all out nuclear war. “Able Archer 83,” as it’s known, was a NATO war game that almost became the real thing. Find out why and how catastrophe was averted in this episode of Wilson Center NOW. Guest Nate Jones is the Director of the Freedom of Information Act Project for the National Security Archive. He oversees the thousands of Freedom of Information Act and Mandatory Declassification Review requests and appeals that the Archive submits each year. A two-term member of the Federal FOIA Advisory Committee and board member of the American Society of Access Professionals, he acts as liaison between Archive analysts and agency FOIA offices, and serves as the Archive's FOIA counselor to the public. He is also editor of the Archive's blog, “Unredacted,” where he writes about newly declassified documents and FOIA policy. He has authored the Archive's past eight government-wide FOIA Audits, including "Saving Government Email an Open Question." He earned his MA in Cold War History from The George Washington University, where he used FOIA to write his thesis on the 1983 Able Archer nuclear war scare. He has also produced The Able Archer 83 Sourcebook, the comprehensive declassified collection of documents on the 1983 nuclear war scare. His book, “Able Archer 83:The Secret History of the NATO Exercise That Almost Triggered Nuclear War,” examines the intersection of Cold War animosity, nuclear miscalculation, and government secrecy. He's on Twitter as @NSANate Book Link: amzn.to/2ee0td1 Host John Milewski is the executive producer and managing editor of Wilson Center NOW and also serves as director of Wilson Center ON DEMAND digital programming. Previously he served as host and producer of Dialogue at the Wilson Center and Close Up on C-SPAN. He also teaches a course on politics and media for Penn State’s Washington Program.
