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]

Declassified text of PD-59, heavily redacted

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described it as an addition to National Security Decision Memorandum 242, a Nixon administration document that it superseded.^[2][3]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.