The United States and Cuba officially severed diplomatic relations on January 3, 1961, the culmination of months of increasingly hostile bilateral…
The Coup Against Iran’s Mohammad Mossadegh
Mohammad Mossadegh became Prime Minister of Iran in 1951 and was hugely popular for taking a stand against the Anglo-Iranian Oil…
Contempt with a Capital Tea
Oftentimes, high-level diplomatic exchanges are not characterized by the usual diplomatic niceties. Take, for example, a memorable meeting between Indian Foreign Minister…
Nixon vs. Khrushchev — The 1959 Kitchen Debate
It was undoubtedly one of the most unorthodox – and therefore memorable – settings for a major political debate. On…
Sound and the Fury — The 1954 Geneva Conference on Vietnam and Korea
In April 1954, amidst growing tensions regarding the situation in the Korean Peninsula and Indochina, the international community convened a…
The Longest Day — Tales from D-Day, 1944
The June 6, 1944 invasion of Normandy marked the beginning of the end of World War II. Planning for what would…
Not-So Full Disclosure
So you have been entrusted with a very important mission — in this case, trying to convince several countries in…
The Fall of Dien Bien Phu and the Rise of U.S. Involvement in Vietnam
Dien Bien Phu was a major battle of the first Indochina war in which the French fought against the Viet…
Castro’s Cuba – The Early Days
On January 1, 1959, after a sustained armed revolt led by Fidel Castro and others took control over most of…
Khrushchev Visits America – A Cold War Comedy of Errors, Act II
In September of 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States on an unprecedented goodwill trip spanning several days,…