The KGB has sent out inflated warnings to its overseas agents in the past. In the early 1980’s, at the height of the cold war between the Kremlin and the Reagan administration, the KGB reportedly ordered its operatives to be on the lookout for signs that the United States was preparing for a nuclear first strike. But intelligence analysts in Washington are taking the latest cable very seriously. “They’ve told their agents overseas don’t be surprised if civil war happens, so be prepared,” said one U.S. source.
