I learned about this episode from British journalist Ben Macintyre’s newest book, The Spy and the Traitor. Without disclosing the source of the intelligence, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was able to convince Reagan to soften his tone and halt further escalation. And now we know why: A double agent embedded high in the KGB’s outpost in London got word to his British handlers that the Soviets had mistaken NATO’s war games as war preparation. The Soviets, convinced that NATO was getting ready for a surprise nuclear attack, prepared for nuclear war.īut then, without explanation, the West pulled back from the brink. And then in November, NATO conducted a massive military simulation involving 40,000 troops. In the first half of that year, President Ronald Reagan dramatically ratcheted up rhetoric, military spending, and psychological operations against the Soviets. This year has been brutal on so many levels.
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