The Mafia in American culture is a source of inspiration for books, movies, and television. The Godfather, The Sopranos, a raft of de Niro movies, are just part of a growing genre. But to many Foreign Service Officers working in Sicily in the 1950s and 60s, these wise guys often had a kinder, gentler side… Read More "Cosa Nostra: U.S. Diplomacy and the Italian Mafia, 1954-1992"
The End of an Era — Handholding Ferdinand Marcos in Exile
Just minutes after returning from his three-year exile, former Philippine Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated at the Manila airport on August 21, 1983. During his long career as reformist politician, Aquino had attracted the wrath of authoritarian President Ferdinand Marcos and spent eight years in prison on the unsubstantiated charge of subversion. His death,… Read More "The End of an Era — Handholding Ferdinand Marcos in Exile"
Diplomatic Insecurity: The State Department Leaves the U.S. Embassy in Morocco in Peril
Threats against embassies are an ongoing concern that heads of mission, especially in certain parts of the world like the Middle East, must contend with on an ongoing basis. In the post-9/11 world, the State Department has been proactive in building bomb-resistant embassies, beefing up security along the perimeter, and taking steps to ensure the… Read More "Diplomatic Insecurity: The State Department Leaves the U.S. Embassy in Morocco in Peril"
Celebrating the Leadership of America’s Ambassadors of African Descent
Ask any five people on an American college campus or maybe even on the streets of any major city, to name the first Black American that comes to their mind when they think of U.S. foreign affairs. I can almost guarantee that the majority of them will mention the names of either Secretaries of State,…
“Our Man is Inside” — The U.S. Ambassador, Kidnapped at a Reception
In Latin America, the mid to late 20th Century was a time characterized by military governments, guerrilla movements, and intense political turmoil — which often led to intense political drama. On February 27, 1980, the Colombian socialist guerrilla group known as the April 19th Movement, or M-19, burst into the Dominican Embassy in Bogota during a… Read More "“Our Man is Inside” — The U.S. Ambassador, Kidnapped at a Reception"
Rehabilitating Former Child Soldiers in Mozambique
Mozambique in the 1980s was a country in the midst of a bloody civil war, when at least 100,000 people were slaughtered in the span of ten years. Both sides, FRELIMO, the National Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, and RENAMO, Mozambique National Resistance, used child soldiers. These children, as well as other children who… Read More "Rehabilitating Former Child Soldiers in Mozambique"
Johnny Young – From Abject Poverty to Chief of Mission
Johnny Young, who served in the Foreign Service from 1967 to 2005, was born into abject poverty in the Deep South. His family moved North in search of a better life, only to discover that the problems of racial inequality and prejudice were not much better. As a student in high school he was dissuaded…
Reunited on Valentine’s Day
January 30th, 1968 marked the beginning of one of the most significant campaigns of the Vietnam War: the Tet Offensive. Named for the traditional Vietnamese New Year, Tết Nguyên Đán, it was the day the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army forces launched their surprise attacks on military and civilian command-and-control centers throughout South Vietnam,… Read More "Reunited on Valentine’s Day"
Resigning Over the Conflict in El Salvador
Central America in the 1980s became a proxy battleground as the United States supported right-wing leaders against leftist socialist guerrillas who, in turn, were usually funded by the Soviet Union, Cuba and others. In El Salvador, the struggle for power took an ugly turn when Archbishop Óscar Romero, who had openly pleaded for the government… Read More "Resigning Over the Conflict in El Salvador"
A Dream Deferred
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore– And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over– like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. … Read More "A Dream Deferred"