The New York Times on recent revelations about Able Archer, a 1983 NATO military exercise in Europe so realistic...

Originally shared by Lev Osherovich

The New York Times on recent revelations about Able Archer, a 1983 NATO military exercise in Europe so realistic that nearly frightened the Soviet Union into launching a pre-emptive nuclear war.

The Russians were making their decisions, in part, by feeding 40,000 variables into a computer to predict the likelihood of nuclear attack.

“Soviet intelligence clearly had tipoffs” to the Able Archer exercise, the advisory board’s report said, and some scenarios suggested a nuclear first strike.

“It is an especially grave error to assume that since we know the U.S. is not going to start World War III,” the board warned, “the next leaders of the Kremlin will also believe that — and act on that belief.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/world/europe/nato-war-games-unwittingly-put-soviets-and-us-on-hair-trigger-in-83-analysis-suggests.html