Democracy Dies in Darkness
Investigations

State Department erases 15 pages of nuclear history — with no warning

Key historical records about the incident during the Reagan administration, known as the Able Archer 83 War Scare, were removed without explanation.

11 min
A collage of black-and-white images and screenshots from documents. One of the images depicts President Ronald Reagan addressing the country. The other depicts North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops training in Germany.
(Illustration by Marissa Vonesh/The Washington Post; John van Hassel/Getty; Bettmann/Getty; documents obtained by The Washington Post)
11 min
Analysis by

There’s a collection of official historical documents published by the U.S. government that — let’s be blunt — I’m obsessed with.

These documents recount President Ronald Reagan’s relations with the Soviet Union in the early 1980s, one of the most dangerous periods of the Cold War. Nuclear threats, high-stakes spy games and possible war: For a public records buff and a Tom Clancy aficionado, the once-secret files are pretty spectacular.

What readers are saying

The comments express significant concern and criticism over the State Department's decision to delete historical records about the Able Archer 83 incident without public explanation. Many commenters view this action as an attempt to rewrite or erase history, drawing parallels to... Show more
This summary is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not a replacement for reading the comments.
By
Nate Jones is the FOIA director for The Washington Post, where he works with reporters to target documents to request, appeal and sue for. @FOIANate
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