This chapter covers Reagan’s character and the internal dynamics of his administration, deeply divided between true-believer conservatives committed to confrontation with the USSR and more moderate figures, such as Secretary of State Shultz, who saw the necessity of negotiating. Reagan supported Shultz in what was called the “mini-thaw of 1983.” The chapter describes hard-line policy memo NSDD-75 and economic measures against the USSR. It describes the downing in 1983 of a Korean airliner, based on secret material released by Yeltsin and the author’s participation in a moving commemorative ceremony. It discusses KGB chief Andropov’s Operation RYAN, seeking evidence of a supposedly impending US nuclear strike. It concludes with NATO’s Able Archer exercise in 1983, which showed anxiety in Moscow but did not, as some have charged, amount to a “war scare.”