The tragedy caused global outrage and led Reagan to accuse the USSR of a crime against humanity. The downing of KAL007 hardened attitudes in the West and deepened Soviet paranoia. It was within this incendiary climate that the world stumbled into one of the most dangerous events of the entire Cold War.
Able Archer 83: The Near-Miss
In November 1983, NATO conducted a routine annual military exercise called Able Archer 83. This war game simulated escalating tensions leading to a nuclear exchange, including a mock transition from conventional warfare to a nuclear response. Unbeknownst to NATO, the Soviets interpreted this simulation as a cover for an actual nuclear first strike. Soviet military leaders, already on edge from Reagan’s aggressive posture and the KAL007 incident, feared they were about to be attacked.
The Soviet Union placed its nuclear forces on high alert, deploying aircraft with nuclear weapons and ordering ballistic missile units to prepare for possible launch. For several days, the risk of miscalculation or accidental war was terrifyingly real.
What ultimately prevented nuclear war during Able Archer was a combination of miscommunication and hesitation. Soviet analysts, uncertain whether the NATO exercise was a real attack, failed to find decisive proof. Key intelligence officers chose not to escalate, and no missiles were launched. But, as Downing shows, this was not due to a sophisticated control mechanism — it was due to human restraint and chance. shutdown123