Briefing Books

“Briefing Books” are one-stop resources covering a full range of topics in U.S. foreign policy. Containing from 5 to 100+ documents, each briefing book features an introductory essay, individual document descriptions, related photo or video content, plus links for further reading.
Declassified Pentagon History Provides Hair-Raising Scenarios of U.S. Vulnerabilities to Nuclear Attack through 1970s
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., November 19, 2012 – For decades, U.S. command-control-and-communications (C3) systems were deeply vulnerable to nuclear attack, according to a recently declassified Pentagon study.
Global Competition and the Deterioration of U.S.-Soviet Relations, 1977-1980
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., November 12, 2012 – The U.S.-Soviet rivalry in the Third World created splits within the Carter administration and fundamental confusion in the Kremlin over the nature of U.S.
Declassified 1964 National Intelligence Estimate Predicts India's Bomb But Not Israel's
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., November 6, 2012 – The U.S.
Mikoyan's "Mission Impossible" in Cuba: New Soviet Evidence on the Cuban Missile Crisis
| Briefing Book
Washington, DC, October 27, 2012 – The Cuban Missile Crisis continued long after the "13 days" celebrated by U.S. media, with U.S.
The Underwater Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet Submarines and the Risk of Nuclear War
| Briefing Book
Washington, DC, October 24, 2012 – Extreme temperatures, equipment breakdowns, and the reckless deployment of nuclear torpedoes aboard Soviet submarines near the quarantine line during the Cuban…
Cuban Missile Crisis Day by Day: From the Pentagon's "Sensitive Records"
| Briefing Book
The Pentagon during the Cuban Missile Crisis Part II.
Pentagon Estimated 18,500 U.S. Casualties in Cuba Invasion 1962, But If Nukes Launched, "Heavy Losses" Expected
| Briefing Book
The Pentagon during the Cuban Missile Crisis Part I.
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan a Case of Mission Creep, According to New Book and Original Soviet Documents
| Briefing Book
Washington, DC, October 13, 2012 – Contrary to U.S.
Cuban Missile Crisis Revelations: Kennedy's Secret Approach to Castro
| Briefing Book
Washington, DC, October 12, 2012 – On the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, new documents from the Robert Kennedy papers declassified yesterday and posted today by the National Security…
U.S.-Iran: Lessons from an Earlier War
| Briefing Book
Advance Praise for Becoming Enemies For those seeking to understand the roots of modern enmity between the U.S. and Iran, Becoming Enemies is a truly unique and wonderful resource. — Karim Sadjadpour…
The Soviet Cuban Missile Crisis: Castro, Mikoyan, Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Missiles of November
| Briefing Book
Washington, DC, October 10, 2012 – In November 1962, Cuba was preparing to become the first nuclear power in Latin America—at the time when the Kennedy administration thought that the Cuban Missile…
Lifting the Veil on NRO Satellite Systems and Ground Stations
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., October 4, 2012 – Today, the National Security Archive posts the fourth in a series of electronic briefing books concerning secrecy and satellite reconnaissance - one of the most…
Soviet Dissidents and Jimmy Carter
| Briefing Book
Moscow, Russian Federation, 18 September 2012 – The first-ever Web publication of previously secret U.S.
Jimmy Carter's Controversial Nuclear Targeting Directive PD-59 Declassified
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., September 14, 2012 – The National Security Archive is today posting - for the first time in its essentially complete form - one of the most controversial nuclear policy directives…
The Haqqani History: Bin Ladin's Advocate Inside the Taliban
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., September 11, 2012 – In the wake of the State Department's recent designation of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Haqqani Network as a terrorist organization, declassified documents posted…
Nuclear Terrorism: How Big a Threat?
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., September 7, 2012 – Eleven years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, how concerned Americans should be over threats of nuclear terrorism remains a subject of vigorous…
Early Atomic Energy Commission Studies Show Concern over Gas Centrifuge Proliferation risk
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., July 23, 2012 – The possibility that highly motivated countries, such as Iran in today's environment, could secretly build gas centrifuge plants to produce highly enriched uranium…
The Alexeyeva File
| Briefing Book
Moscow, Russian Federation, July 20, 2012 – Marking the 85th birthday of Russian human rights legend Lyudmila Alexeyeva, the National Security Archive today published on the Web a digital collection…
Documenting the FBI: Declassified Documents Provide New Detail on Confronting the Terrorist Threat – from al-Qaeda to Skinheads
| Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., July 19, 2012 – A new Web resource posted today by the National Security Archive offers a wide-ranging compilation of declassified records detailing the operations of a key…
Trilateralism and Beyond
| Briefing Book
A new book and newly-released documents illuminate the history of U.S. efforts to deal with the Korean security dilemma during and since the Cold War.