The circumstances seem all too familiar — political turmoil leads to angry mobs storming the U.S. compound in Benghazi. Except this incident took place in June 1967. John Kormann fought in World War II as a paratrooper and went behind enemy lines to apprehend Nazi war criminals and uncover a mass grave. As an Army Counter… Read More "Recalling the Attack on the U.S. Compound in Benghazi – from June 1967"
The Iran Hostage Crisis– Part II
In these excerpts, Bruce Laingen, then Charge d’Affaires of U.S. Embassy Tehran and one of the “super Satans” kept hostage at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, discusses his concerns about a possible “apology” by the U.S. government to the regime, the confusion engendered by changes in the Iranian government, the Argo episode (and how the Ministry knew of… Read More "The Iran Hostage Crisis– Part II"
The Iran Hostage Crisis — Part I
November 4, 1979 – Radical Iranian students take over the U.S. embassy in Tehran and hold 52 Americans hostage. The embassy had been seized in February of that year, shortly after the Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile in Paris, but that was resolved quickly; few suspected that this diplomatic crisis would end up lasting 444… Read More "The Iran Hostage Crisis — Part I"
Tie a Yellow Ribbon — The Iran Hostage Crisis as Seen from the Home Front
Penelope (Penne) Laingen is the wife of Bruce Laingen, who had served in Germany, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan before being named ambassador to Malta in 1977. He was sent back to Iran to serve as Charge d’Affaires, and had been there for only a few months when the U.S. Embassy was overrun by student protesters. … Read More "Tie a Yellow Ribbon — The Iran Hostage Crisis as Seen from the Home Front"
The Missiles of October
October 14, 1962, witnessed the start of one of the most potentially devastating moments in history, when the United States and the Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Photographs taken by a high-altitude U-2 spy plane offered clear evidence that Soviet medium-range missiles — capable of carrying… Read More "The Missiles of October"
Lessons Learned from a Former Hostage
In Captive in the Congo, Mike Hoyt describes his ordeal as one of 300 hostages taken by armed rebels. They were eventually rescued in a joint U.S.-Belgian operation code-named Dragon Rouge. In this article, he discusses U.S. government policy on hostages and argues for a re-evaluation, contending that the longer people talk with hostage-takers, the greater the… Read More "Lessons Learned from a Former Hostage"
Those Little Bastards at the State Department
Ah, the power of bureaucrats! It doesn’t seem to matter if you’re talking about the upper echelons of the State Department or the lowly ranks of the DMV, some people just never learned to share. Theodore Achilles, who later became ambassador to Peru, served in Washington as Chief of the British Commonwealth Division in the State Department… Read More "Those Little Bastards at the State Department"
Captive in the Congo
Michael Hoyt was Commercial Officer in Leopoldville from 1962 until 1965 and was serving as interim Principal Officer in Stanleyville (now Kisangani) when he and his staff, along with 320 other people, were taken hostage by the rebel Simbas. Held for 111 days, they were eventually rescued in a joint U.S.-Belgian operation code-named Dragon Rouge on November… Read More "Captive in the Congo"
Operation Dragon Rouge
William E. Schaufele, Jr. was the Congo Desk Officer at State from 1964 to 1965, when 330 people, including the staff of the U.S.consulate, were taken hostage by Congolese rebels in Stanleyville (now Kisangani). Held for 111 days, they were eventually rescued in a joint U.S.-Belgian operation codenamed Dragon Rouge. Schaufele, who later served as… Read More "Operation Dragon Rouge"
The Cairo Fire of 1952
The Cairo Fire, also known as Black Saturday, was a series of riots that took place on January 26, 1952, marked by the burning and looting of some 750 buildings and the country’s Opera House in downtown Cairo. It was triggered by the killing of 50 Egyptian auxiliary policemen by British occupation troops a day… Read More "The Cairo Fire of 1952"