Cold War intelligence: The United States Military Liaison Mission in East Germany, 1947-1990

The monolithic interpretation of the Cold War as a period void of constructive inter-adversary communication is shattered by an examination of one of the key military intelligence instruments used by US decision-makers: the United States Military Liaison Mission (USMLM). The only comprehensive study available in the public forum, this thesis examines USMLM structure, function, and significance. The text is supported by an unprecedented body of evidence collected by the author; which includes several volumes of declassified USMLM Unit Histories, unpublished memoirs, declassified government analyses, and interviews with veterans of the USMLM and members of US agencies.; Like its counterpart--the Soviet Military Liaison Mission operating in the American zone (West Germany)--the USMLM was designed, initiated, staffed, and supplied to observe overtly the Soviet and Warsaw Pact military forces and equipment located in the Soviet zone (East Germany). In the absence of arms control monitoring systems, this mutual intelligence collection was a prototypical "confidence building measure" and served as a model during arms control negotiations. Overall, the USMLM and the entire MLM system provided valuable early warning and transparency in a region of extraordinary military, security, and political importance. Elements of the USMLM model may serve as a basis for intelligence regimes in the future, but inventive solutions to current security problems can only be found through a more adroit examination of Cold War history and improved access to key documents.