With a presidential visit comes months of preparation and stress. While big embassies with hundreds of staff members are often…
When the Sudanese Autocrat Met President Reagan and Lost his Job
In 1969, Colonel Gaafar Muhammad Nimeiry (seen right), who three years earlier had graduated from the United States Army Command…
Mission Unspeakable: When North Koreans Tried to Kill the President of South Korea
On October 9, 1983, while South Korean President Chun Doo-Hwan was on a visit to Rangoon, Burma to lay a…
The 2000 Presidential Election – The Florida Recount
The presidential election of November 7, 2000 was one of the most memorable – and controversial – in the history…
The Extra Special Relationship: Thatcher, Reagan, and the 1980s
The “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom has served to unite the two nations over the…
Nancy Reagan and the Runaway Chopper
When the First Lady of the United States comes to town, it requires almost as much planning and fanfare as…
Taking the Chill off the Cold War: The First Reagan-Gorbachev Summit
The Geneva Summit of 1985 was the first meeting between President Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev to talk about the arms…
Al Haig and the Reagan Assassination Attempt — “I’m in control here”
When President Ronald Reagan was shot on March 30, 1981, chaos ensued behind the scenes at the White House. With…
Bob Strauss – “Hell, Mr. President, I didn’t even vote for you”
Ambassador Robert S. Strauss is one of the giants of Twentieth Century American politics and diplomacy, whose service dates back…
From START to Finish: Behind the Scenes of the Tense U.S.-Soviet Nuclear Disarmament in Reykjavík
The 45-year-long Cold War of protracted geopolitical contention between two global powerhouses helped determine the unprecedented magnitude of nuclear weapons…