On April 22, 1974, Pan American Flight 812, a plane known as the Clipper Climax, crashed into the mountainous terrain…
The Iran-Contra Scandal
One of the biggest foreign policy scandals of the last half-century was the Iran-Contra affair, in which the Reagan Administration,…
Get Your Cameras Ready: Celebrities in the Embassies
While the work at embassies can often put Foreign Service officers in harm’s way, on occasion they have the chance…
Targeted by Germany’s Red Army Faction
An offshoot of the radical Baader-Meinhof Group (named for its founders, Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Horst Mahler, and Ulrike Meinhof),…
A Thieving U.S. Citizen Wreaks Havoc at the U.S Embassy in Nicaragua
It is a commonly held belief that while abroad as a U.S. citizen, the American government and its embassy will…
The Reign of the Snake – The Seedy Tenure of Togo’s President Eyadema
Extravagant dinners with Dom Pérignon and caviar, rampant corruption, political assassinations, a starving populace. Togo had been a small jewel…
The Risk of a Lonely Drive: The U.S. Consul General in Guadalajara Describes His Kidnapping
Mexico has often been a dangerous place, particularly in the 1970s with the heightened activity of organized crime syndicates and…
“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…
Cosa Nostra: U.S. Diplomacy and the Italian Mafia, 1954-1992
The Mafia in American culture is a source of inspiration for books, movies, and television. The Godfather, The Sopranos, a…
The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan — December 1979
It was to last nearly a decade and would plant the seeds for the rise of the Taliban and Islamic…