Presidential Directive 59

Presidential Directive 59 (PD-59) was a top secret document titled "Nuclear Weapons Employment Policy" prepared by the Carter administration and dated 25 July 1980 that contained plans for carrying out an extended nuclear war.

[1] Carter's National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski described it as an addition to National Security Decision Memorandum 242, a Nixon administration document that it superseded.

[2][3] Parts of its contents were leaked shortly after its creation, causing a public furore about nuclear escalation.

[4] A redacted version of PD-59 has since been declassified and released publicly.

This United States government–related article is a stub.