Office of the Historian

Abbreviations and Terms

  • AAA, anti-aircraft artillery
  • AAPD, Akten zur Auswärtigen Politik der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
  • ABM, antiballistic missile
  • ACDA, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
  • AD 70, “Allied Defense Problems in the Seventies” (a NATO study)
  • Adm, Admiral
  • AEC, Atomic Energy Commission
  • AF, Bureau of African Affairs, Department of State
  • AP, Associated Press
  • ASAP, as soon as possible
  • Asst, assistant
  • ARA, Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, Department of State
  • ATSD (AE), Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, Atomic Energy
  • backchannel, a method of communication outside normal bureaucratic procedure; the White House, for instance, used “backchannel” messages to bypass the Department of State.
  • Benelux, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg
  • BFR, balanced force reductions
  • C, Office of the Counselor, Department of State
  • CBM, confidence-building measure
  • CDSP, Current Digest of the Soviet Press
  • CDU, Christian Democratic Union (Federal Republic of Germany)
  • CES, Conference on European Security
  • CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
  • CINC, Commander in Chief
  • CINCEUR, Commander in Chief, U.S. Forces, Europe
  • CINCLANT, Commander in Chief, Atlantic
  • CMEA, Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
  • COMECON, Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
  • CPSU, Communist Party of the Soviet Union
  • CSC, Conference on Security and Cooperation (i.e., CSCE)
  • CSCE, Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe
  • CSU, Christian Social Union of Bavaria (Federal Republic of Germany)
  • CTB, comprehensive test ban
  • D, Deputy Secretary, Department of State
  • DCI, Director of Central Intelligence
  • DCM, Deputy Chief of Mission
  • DEFMIN, Defense Minister
  • del, delegation
  • deloff, delegation official
  • Deptel, Department of State telegram
  • DIA, Defense Intelligence Agency
  • DOD, Department of Defense
  • DPC, Defense Planning Committee
  • DPG, Defense Planning Group
  • DPRC, Defense Program Review Committee XXIII
  • E, Bureau of Economic Affairs, Department of State
  • EA, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • EC, European Community
  • ECE, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
  • EDIP, European Defense Improvement Program
  • EE, Eastern Europe; Office of Eastern European Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EEC, European Economic Community
  • Emb, Embassy
  • Emboff, Embassy official
  • Embtel, Embassy telegram
  • EPU, European Parliamentary Union
  • ESC, European Security Conference
  • EUR, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EUR/CE, Office of Central European Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EUR/EE, Office of Eastern European Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EUR/GER, Office of the Country Director for Germany, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EUR/IG, European Interdepartmental Group
  • EUR/RPM, Office of the Director for NATO and Atlantic Political-Military Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EUR/SOV, Office of Soviet Union Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EUR/WE, Office of Western European Affairs, Department of State
  • Exdis, exclusive distribution
  • FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • FBS, forward-based systems
  • FCO, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, United Kingdom
  • FDP, Free Democratic Party (Federal Republic of Germany)
  • Fedrep, Federal Republic of Germany
  • FM, Foreign Minister
  • Fonmin, Foreign Minister
  • FONOFFS, Foreign Offices
  • FRG, Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)
  • FY, fiscal year
  • FYI, For Your Information
  • GATT, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
  • GDR, German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
  • GNP, Gross National Product
  • GOR, Government of Romania
  • HAK, Henry A. Kissinger
  • HAKTO, White House series indicator for messages from Kissinger
  • H, Bureau of Congressional Relations, Department of State
  • H.E., His Excellency
  • HK, Henry Kissinger
  • HMG, Her Majesty’s Government (United Kingdom)
  • IG, interagency (interdepartmental) group
  • IO, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Department of State
  • IG/EUR, Interdepartmental Group for European Affairs
  • INR, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • IRBM, intermediate-range ballistic missile
  • ISA, Office of International Security Affairs, Department of Defense
  • JCS, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • JRS, James R. Schlesinger
  • KGB, Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti (State Security Committee), Soviet Union
  • L, Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State
  • L/EUR, Assistant Legal Adviser for European Affairs, Department of State
  • LDC, Less Developed Country
  • Limdis, limited distribution
  • M, Under Secretary for Management, Department of State
  • MBFR, Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions
  • MC, memorandum of conversation
  • Mech, mechanized
  • Med, Mediterranean
  • Memcon, memorandum of conversation
  • MFA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • MFN, Most Favored Nation
  • MIRV, multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicle
  • Misc., miscellaneous
  • MOD, Minister of Defense
  • MPT, Multilateral Preparatory Talks (for CSCE)
  • MRBM, medium-range ballistic missile
  • NAC, North Atlantic Council
  • NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  • NCA, national command authority
  • NEA, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • n.d., no date
  • NGA, NATO guidelines area
  • NIE, National Intelligence Estimate
  • Nodis, no distribution (to other than persons indicated)
  • NOFORN, no foreign distribution
  • Notal, not to all
  • NPC, Nuclear Planning Committee, NATO
  • NPG, Nuclear Planning Group, NATO
  • NPT, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
  • NSA, National Security Agency
  • NSC, National Security Council
  • NSDM, National Security Decision Memorandum
  • NSSM, National Security Study Memorandum
  • nucs, nuclear weapons
  • NYT, New York Times
  • OBE, overtaken by events
  • OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
  • OEP, Office of Emergency Preparedness
  • OMB, Office of Management and Budget
  • OSD, Office of the Secretary of Defense
  • OST, Office of Science and Technology, the White House
  • P, Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Department of State
  • para, paragraph
  • Permrep, permanent representative
  • PL, Public Law
  • PM, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, Department of State; also Prime Minister
  • PM/DCA, Office of Disarmament and Arms Control, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, Department of State
  • POLAD, Political Advisor
  • Pt., part
  • QA, Quadripartite Agreement
  • QRR, quadripartite rights and responsibilities
  • REDCOSTE, reduction of costs in Europe
  • rep, representative
  • Reforger, return of force to Germany
  • Reftel, reference telegram
  • rep, representative
  • RG, Review Group or Record Group
  • RN, Richard Nixon
  • S, Office of the Secretary of State
  • S/S, Executive Secretariat, Department of State
  • SACEUR, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
  • SACLANT, Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic
  • SALT, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
  • SecDef, Secretary of Defense
  • SecDel, Secretary’s Delegation
  • SECTO, series indicator for telegrams from the Secretary of State or his delegation to the Department of State
  • Septel, separate telegram
  • SG, Secretary General
  • SHAPE, Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers, Europe
  • SLCM, submarine-launched cruise missile
  • SNIE, Special National Intelligence Estimate
  • SOV, Office of Eastern Soviet Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • SPC, Senior Political Committee, NATO
  • SPD, German Social Democratic Party of Germany (West Germany)
  • SRG, Senior Review Group
  • SYG, Secretary General
  • TAC, Tactical Air Command
  • tac, tactical
  • tac-nuc, tactical nuclear weapon
  • TASS, Telegrafnoye Agentstvo Sovyetskovo Soyuza (Telegraphic Agency of the Soviet Union, Soviet news agency)
  • Telcon, telephone conversation
  • TOHAK, series indicator for White House messages to Kissinger
  • Topol, series indicator for telegrams to the Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations
  • TOSEC, series indicator for telegrams from the Department of State to the Secretary of State or his delegation
  • U, Office of the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
  • UK, United Kingdom
  • UN, United Nations
  • UNGA, United Nations General Assembly
  • UNSYG, United Nations Secretary General
  • US, United States
  • USA, United States of America or United States Army
  • USAF, United States Air Force
  • USCINCEUR, United States Commander in Chief, Europe
  • USLOSACLANT, United States Liaison Office to Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic
  • USCOSACLANT, United States Commander, Supreme Allied Commander for the Atlantic
  • USDEL, United States delegation
  • USDOCOSOUTH, United States Documents Officer, Allied Forces, Southeastern Europe
  • USG, United States government
  • USIA, United States Information Agency
  • USNATO, series indicator for telegrams from the Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to the Department of State
  • USNMR, United States National Military Representative, SHAPE
  • USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
  • USUN, United States Mission to the United Nations
  • VIP, very important person
  • Vol., volume
  • VP, Verification Panel
  • VPWG, Verification Panel Working Group
  • WEU, Western European Union
  • WG, Working Group
  • WH, White House
  • WHY, White House Years
  • WP, Warsaw Pact
  • Z, Zulu (Greenwich Mean Time)