Lesley Tanburn Dorman devoted her life to her own family and to her wider family – the Foreign Service. Her…
An Embassy in Flames: Islamabad, 1979
The November 21, 1979 attack on the American Embassy in Islamabad started as a small group demonstration in front of…
Persistence, Vision and Luck: Creating a Center for Diplomatic Training
Can you imagine the bureaucratic struggles involved in persuading the Department of Defense to hand over acres of prime real…
The Bombing of U.S. Embassy Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
On August 7, 1998, between 10:30 and 10:40 a.m. local time, the U.S. embassies in Nairobi , Kenya and Dar…
Remember, Remember 17 November
The shock of terrorist attacks in Europe in the past decade, notably in Paris, London, and Madrid, sadly recall an…
The Death of Ambassador Arnold Raphel
U.S. relations with Pakistan have often had a disproportionate importance. In the 1980’s, they were again front and center in…
“Apparently I have been kidnapped” — The Death of a Vice Consul
In 1974, Bobby Joe Keesee (in photo), recipient of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for his actions during…
Dark Times in the City of Light
Paris is one of the most beautiful and glamorous places in the world. But like most urban centers, it also…
Slobodan Milosevic and the Road to Dayton
Slobodan Milosevic was in many ways a paradoxical figure. Long criticized for being a corrupt opportunist, he could also be engaging…
Secretary Ron Brown’s Plane Crashes in Croatia
On April 3rd, 1996, just before the Easter holiday, Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown was killed in a plane crash…