Sport has often been used throughout history as a political tool. In particular, sport boycotts have been effective measures for…
Paul Nitze and A Walk in the Woods — A Failed Attempt at Arms Control
In 1976, the USSR deployed hundreds of intermediate-range SS-20s (pictured), which were an upgrade of the older SS-3 and SS-4…
Leveling the Playing Field in the Salvadoran Civil War
The Salvadoran Civil War, lasting from 1979-1992, pitted the military-led government of El Salvador against a coalition of five left-wing guerrilla…
Survivor of Two Concentration Camps, U.S. Ambassador to Three Countries
Robert Gerhard Neumann (1916–1999), seen at right with wife Marlen, served as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia.…
Officially Unofficial – The Opening of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)
On the first day of January 1979, the United States de-recognized the Republic of China (also known as Taiwan or…
The “Other” Embassy Attack of November 1979 — The Siege of Embassy Islamabad
The attack on the American embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979 and the subsequent 444-day imprisonment of American personnel…
Marquita Maytag: The Shrew of Kathmandu
Nepal is a small mountainous country in South Asia, bordered by India and the Tibetan autonomous region of China, which…
The NPT and the Aftermath of India’s Nuclear Test — May 1974
Operation Smiling Buddha was the assigned code name for India’s first nuclear weapons explosion on May 18th, 1974. India declared…
A Flood of Cuban Migrants — The Mariel Boatlift, April-October 1980
One of the most contentious events in mass migration started on April 1, 1980 when several Cubans took control of…
Exit Somoza, Enter the Sandinistas
As violence and protests against Nicaragua’s despotic government increased, the U.S. and the Organization of American States (OAS) tried to…