When Able Archer 83 began in November, it ended up becoming one of the most serious war scares in the history of the Cold War. During the exercise, nervous Soviet leaders placed their nuclear forces in Europe on a higher alert level, and terrified KGB operatives near the front lines began spreading false reports that NATO was moving troops. Fortunately, no further misunderstandings occurred, and no shots were fired. But it was only after this close call that Reagan officials began to understand the true extent to which the USSR’s leaders were afraid of America. [23]
In a way, it was this very fear that caused the shootdown of KAL 007. From beginning to end, fear was the driving force behind the decisions made by Soviet actors. Fear caused the adoption of articles 36 and 53; fear informed the requirement to shoot down intruding aircraft; and fear drove General Kornukov’s determination to prevent the target from escaping. What if this was it — what if this weird, inexplicable event was somehow the opening salvo of the inevitable American attack? And if it wasn’t, then what if next time, it was? Only too late did anyone realize that they were afraid of their own shadows.