Terence Todman is one of the few people to attain the rank of career ambassador – the equivalent of a four-star general – in the Department of State, having served as ambassador to six different countries. He is also one of the few African Americans to be so honored and was known for his outspokenness…
Hard Rock Hotel Panama: Noriega and the U.S. Invasion, Part II
The U.S. and SOUTHCOM had spent considerable time and effort planning for the invasion and had mapped out several places where Noriega could potentially be hiding, the chief one being the house of a mistress. However, he wasn’t in any of them as he had been tipped off. Now the U.S. military and the embassy… Read More "Hard Rock Hotel Panama: Noriega and the U.S. Invasion, Part II"
Hard Rock Hotel Panama — Noriega and the U.S. Invasion, Part I
Beginning in the middle of the 1980s, relations between General Manuel Noriega, Panama’s de facto leader, and the United States started to deteriorate. In 1986 President Ronald Reagan pressured him with several drug-related indictments in U.S. courts; however, Noriega did not give in. As relations continued to spiral downward, Noriega shifted his allegiance towards the… Read More "Hard Rock Hotel Panama — Noriega and the U.S. Invasion, Part I"
The Jonestown Massacre
Jonestown, Guyana was the scene of one of the most harrowing tragedies in American history. On November 18, 1978, at the direction of charismatic cult leader Jim Jones, 909 members of the People’s Temple died, all but two from apparent cyanide poisoning, in a “revolutionary suicide.” They included over 200 murdered children. The poisonings in… Read More "The Jonestown Massacre"
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"
“It was an Unwinnable War”
George Ball was the Under Secretary of State for Economic and Agricultural Affairs in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. He supported the 1963 overthrow of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem and served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in 1968, where he passionately criticized the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. However, he is most known for his…
Moments in U.S. Diplomatic History
Our web series of over 800 “Moments in U.S. Diplomatic History” captures key historical events — and humorous aspects of diplomatic life, using our extensive collection of oral histories. Note: These oral histories contain the personal recollections and opinions of the individual interviewed. The views expressed should not be considered official statements of the U.S.…