Office of the Historian

Abbreviations and Terms

  • ACDA, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
  • ADB, Asian Development Bank
  • AEC, Atomic Energy Commission
  • AID, Agency for International Development
  • AIT, American Institute in Taiwan
  • ALCM, air launched cruise missile
  • ALPHA, channel for classified information during the Carter Administration that permitted only principles and their staff assistants to have routine access to documents so designated
  • AMB, ambassador
  • AP, Associated Press
  • ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations
  • ASW, anti-submarine warfare (DOD)
  • ATGM, anti-tank guided missile or anti-tank guided munition
  • Backchannel, a method of communication outside normal bureaucratic procedure; the White House, for example, used “backchannel” messages to bypass the Department of State
  • Beida (Bei-Da), Peking University (Beijing Daxue)
  • BEWT, Bureau of East-West Trade
  • C, Carter or Confidential
  • CAAC, Civil Aviation Administration of China
  • CAB, Civil Aeronautics Board
  • Capt, Captain
  • CBS, Columbia Broadcasting System
  • CCC, Commodity Credit Corporation
  • CCK, Jiang Jingguo (Chiang Ching-kuo)
  • CCNAA, Coordination Council for North American Affairs (Taiwan)
  • CCP, Chinese Communist Party
  • CCPIT, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade
  • CDC, Control Data Corporation
  • CENTO, Central Treaty Organization
  • Cherokee, a special telegraphic channel established for highly sensitive Department of State messages
  • CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
  • CINCPAC, Commander in Chief, Pacific Command
  • CIVAIR, civil air (civilian aviation)
  • COCOM, Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls
  • Codel, Congressional delegation
  • Col, Colonel
  • COMECON, Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
  • CPIFA, Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs
  • CSCE, Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe
  • CTB, Comprehensive Test Ban
  • CV, Cyrus Vance
  • D, Office of the Deputy Secretary of State
  • DA, David Aaron
  • DCI, Director of Central Intelligence (CIA)
  • DCM, Deputy Chief of Mission, United States Embassy
  • DIA, Defense Intelligence Agency
  • DIS or DISS, dissemination
  • DK, Democratic Kampuchea
  • DOD, Department of Defense
  • DOD/ISA, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Department of Defense
  • DOE, Department of Energy
  • DOS, Department of State
  • DPRK, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)
  • DR, Dual Representation (UN) or Daily Report to the President
  • Dragon, US ATGM
  • DRV, Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam)
  • E, Bureau of Economic Affairs, Department of State
  • EA, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • EA/P, Public Affairs Advisor, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • EA/PRCM, Office of People’s Republic of China and Mongolia Affairs, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • EA/ROC, Republic of China Office, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • EA/VLC, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia Office, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • EPA, Environmental Protection Agency
  • ER, Office of Economic Research, Central Intelligence Agency or Executive Registry, Central Intelligence Agency
  • ESC, European Security Conference
  • EST, Eastern Standard Time
  • EXDIS, exclusive distribution (indicates extremely limited dissemination)
  • Exlm or Eximbank, Export and Import Bank
  • FAC, foreign assets control
  • FBIS, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
  • FMS, foreign military sales
  • FONMIN, Foreign Minister
  • FRC, Federal Records Center (US)
  • FRG, Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)
  • FT, foreign trade
  • FY, fiscal year
  • FYI, for your information
  • GA, General Assembly (UN)
  • GATT, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
  • GNP, gross national product
  • GOJ, government of Japan
  • GONT, the government on Taiwan
  • GROC, government of the Republic of China
  • GSP, Generalized System of Preferences
  • GVN, government of Vietnam (South)
  • HB, Harold Brown
  • HEW, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
  • HFAC, House Foreign Affairs Committee
  • HIRC, House (of Representatives) International Relations Committee
  • HOT, French ATGM
  • H.R., House Resolution
  • IAEA, International Atomic Energy Agency
  • IBM, International Business Machines
  • IBRD, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)
  • ICA, International Communication Agency
  • ICBM, intercontinental ballistic missile
  • ICRC, International Committee of the Red Cross
  • IDA, International Development Association (World Bank)
  • IFI, International Financial Institutions
  • IG, Interdepartmental Group
  • IMF, International Monetary Fund
  • INFO, information
  • INER, Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (Taiwan)
  • INR, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • INR/EAP, East Asia and the Pacific, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • INTEL, intelligence
  • IO, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Department of State
  • IOC, International Olympic Committee
  • IR, infrared
  • ISA, Bureau of International Security Affairs, Department of Defense
  • ITA, Industry and Trade Administration
  • ITAC, Interagency Textile Administrative Committee
  • JCS, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • JCSM, Joint Chiefs of Staff memorandum
  • JEC, U.S.-China Joint Economic committee
  • JTM, Jessica Tuchman Mathews
  • Kfir, an Israeli fighter-bomber
  • KLM, Khmer Liberation Movement
  • KMT, Kuomintang (Nationalist Party, ROC), also called the Guomindang (GMD)
  • L, Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State
  • LANDSAT, Land Remote-Sensing Satellite
  • LIMDIS, limited distribution (see also EXDIS)
  • LDC, less developed country
  • LO, liaison office
  • LTA, The Long Term Arrangement/Agreement on Cotton Textiles
  • LTC, Lieutenant Colonel
  • M, Deputy Under Secretary for Management (Department of State)
  • MB, megabyte
  • MBFR, Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions
  • McA, Eugene V. McAuliffe
  • MDT, Mutual Defense Treaty
  • ME, Mideast
  • MFA, Multifiber Agreement or Ministry of Foreign Affairs (PRC)
  • MFN, most favored nation
  • MHD, magnetohydrodynamic
  • MIA, missing in action
  • Milan, a Greek ATGM
  • MIRV, multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle
  • MMT, million metric tons
  • MO, Michel Oksenberg
  • MOD, Minister of Defense
  • MOFA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • MST, Mutual Security Treaty
  • MTN, Multilateral Trade Negotiations
  • NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  • NCUSCT, National Council for U.S.-China Trade
  • NE, northeast
  • NEA, National Endowment for the Arts
  • NEH, National Endowment for the Humanities
  • NIAM, National Intelligence Analytical Memorandum
  • NIE, National Intelligence Estimate
  • NNPA, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act
  • NODIS, no distribution
  • NIO, National Intelligence Officer
  • NOTAL, not all (telegram A, referenced in telegram B, was not sent to all the recipients of telegram B)
  • NPC, National People’s Congress
  • NPT, Nonproliferation Treaty
  • NSA, National Security Agency
  • NSNA, New China News Agency
  • NSC, National Security Council
  • NSDM, National Security Decision Memorandum
  • NW, northwest
  • OASD/ISA, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
  • OAU, Organization of African Unity
  • OCI, Office of Current Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency
  • OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
  • OES, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Department of State
  • OJCS, Office/Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • OMB, Office of Management and Budget
  • ONE, Office of National Estimates, Central Intelligence Agency
  • OPIC, Overseas Private Investment Corporation
  • OSD, Office of the Secretary of Defense
  • OSTP, Office of Science and Technology Policy
  • OTH, over the horizon (radar)
  • P, Office of the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Department of State
  • P and I, privileges and immunities
  • P&R, performance and resources
  • PACOM, Pacific Command (U.S.)
  • PARA, paragraph
  • PCH, Philip C. Habib
  • PD, Presidential Directive
  • PDM, programmed depot maintenance
  • PFT, Peace and Friendship Treaty
  • PGM, precision-guided munition
  • PL, Public Law
  • PLA, People’s Liberation Army (PRC)
  • PLO, Palestine Liberation Organization
  • PM, Prime Minister or Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, Department of State
  • PM/SAS, Office of Security Assistance and Sales, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, Department of State
  • PNE, peaceful nuclear explosion
  • POL, political or petroleum, oil, and lubricants
  • POLAD, Political Advisor
  • POW, prisoner of war
  • PRC, People’s Republic of China or Policy Review Committee (NSC)
  • PRCLO, People’s Republic of China Liaison Office (Washington)
  • PRCMUN, People’s Republic of China Mission to the UN
  • PRES, the President
  • PRM, Presidential Review Memorandum
  • R&D, research and development
  • REFTEL, reference telegram
  • REP, representative
  • RES, resolution (UN)
  • RG, record group (National Archives and Records Administration)
  • RI, Rick Inderfurth
  • RNC, Republican National Committee
  • ROC, Republic of China
  • ROCAF, Republic of China Air Force
  • ROK, Republic of Korea (South Korea)
  • RP, Office of Regional and Political Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency
  • RPT, repeat
  • RVN, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam)
  • RWK, Robert W. Komer
  • S, Office of the Secretary of State or Secret
  • S/P, Policy Planning Staff, Department of State
  • S&T, science and technology
  • SALT, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks or Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
  • SAS, Office of Security Assistance and Sales
  • SC, Security Council (UN)
  • SCA, Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs, Department of State
  • SCC, Special Coordination (also sometimes Coordinating) Committee
  • SCI, Bureau of International Scientific and Technological Affairs, Department of State; also sensitive compartmentalized information
  • SEA, Southeast Asia
  • SEATO, Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
  • SECDEF, Secretary of Defense
  • Sec/S, Secretary of State
  • SECTO, from the Secretary of State (used for telegrams from the Secretary or his party while he is on travel)
  • SEPTEL, separate telegram
  • SFRC, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
  • SIG, Senior Interdepartmental Group (NSC)
  • SLOC, Strategic Lines of Communication
  • SPECAT, special category (message requiring special handling)
  • SRV, Socialist Republic of Vietnam
  • S/S, Executive Secretariat, Department of State
  • STADIS, distribution within the Department of State only
  • STR, Special Trade Representative
  • SYG, Secretary General (UN)
  • T, Office of the Under Secretary for Security Assistance, Science and Technology, Department of State
  • TASS, Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union
  • TDC, Taiwan Defense Command
  • TDP, Trade and Development Program
  • TNF, Theater Nuclear Forces
  • TOSEC, to the Secretary of State (used for telegrams to the Secretary while he is on travel)
  • TOW, tube-launched optically-tracked wire-guided missile
  • TRA, Taiwan Relations Act
  • TRR, Taiwan Research Reactor
  • TS, Top Secret
  • TV, Television
  • TVA, Tennessee Valley Authority
  • U, Office of the Under Secretary of State
  • UK, United Kingdom
  • UN, United Nations
  • UNC, United Nations Command (Korea)
  • UNICEF, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (United Nations Children’s Fund)
  • UNGA, United Nations General Assembly
  • UNITA, National Union for Total Independence of Angola (Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola)
  • UPl, United Press International
  • USA, United States Army
  • USAF, United States Air Force
  • USDA, United States Department of Agriculture
  • USG, United States Government
  • USGS, United States Geological Survey
  • USLO, United States Liaison Office (Beijing)
  • USN, United States Navy
  • USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
  • USTR, United States Trade Representative
  • USUN, United States Mission to the United Nations
  • VBB, meeting involving Vance, Brown, and Brzezinski
  • VN, Vietnam
  • Voyager, a backchannel means of communication that circumvented the Department of State by sending messages to the White House
  • VP, Vice President
  • WH, White House
  • WR, Weekly Report to the President
  • WRM, war reserve materiél
  • Z, Zulu time (Greenwich Mean Time)
  • ZB, Zbigniew Brzezinski