In October 2000, 135 years after the Thirteenth Amendment officially abolished slavery within the United States, Congress declared that “as the 21st century begins, the degrading institution of slavery continues throughout the world.” These opening words to the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act embodied the United States’ growing awareness of modern slavery and… Read More "Breaking Chains: The Continual Fight Against Human Trafficking"
Broken Bones, Broken Dreams, Broken Homeland: The First Intifada, 1987
On December 9, 1987, the deaths of four Palestinian refugees plunged the nation of Israel into four years of strikes, boycotts, beatings, shootings, and gassings as Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem rebelled against their Israeli occupiers. When Palestinian fighters attacked with stones and Molotov cocktails, killing military personnel and destroying the… Read More "Broken Bones, Broken Dreams, Broken Homeland: The First Intifada, 1987"
An Iraq War Dissent
In 2001 Ann Wright served as the first political officer in the newly reopened U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Two years later she was one of three diplomats to publicly resign from the Foreign Service due to disagreements with the Bush Administration’s foreign policy on Iraq and other issues. Prior to her resignation Wright had a… Read More "An Iraq War Dissent"
Persecution of the Kurds: The Documents of Saddam’s Secret Police
The Kurds have had a long and troubled history in Iraq. Under Saddam Hussein tens of thousands of Kurds were massacred and their villages destroyed during Iraq’s war with Iran in the 1980s. In the aftermath of the 1990-91 Gulf War, the Kurds, staged an uprising against Saddam and fought to gain autonomy over the… Read More "Persecution of the Kurds: The Documents of Saddam’s Secret Police"
Managing a Massacre: The Ramifications of Tiananmen Square
The Tiananmen Square Massacre of June 1989, and the subsequent months of intimidation, deception and violence, shattered the façade of Chinese political solidarity and severely damaged Sino-American relations. The crackdown followed weeks of protests after the death of reformist leader Hu Yaobang, when tens of thousands of peaceful protesters gathered in Tiananmen Square to demand… Read More "Managing a Massacre: The Ramifications of Tiananmen Square"
The Strange Case of Ngo Dinh Can
It sounds like a scene out of a movie: a corrupt dictator attempts to flee the country with the help of the American Consul, but is stopped by a CIA agent who arrests him. However, this is a very real event that took place in Vietnam in the fall of 1963. While his brother, Ngô… Read More "The Strange Case of Ngo Dinh Can"
Baker’s Half Dozen — Six Precepts of Foreign Policy
A skilled diplomat and negotiator, James A. Baker III served as the Secretary of State during a period of tumultuous change, including the collapse of the Soviet Union, Operation Desert Storm, and the U.S. invasion of Panama. In these remarks, which lay out specific steps on Ukraine and are at times critical of President Obama, Secretary Baker…
The Rwandan Genocide — The View from Ground Zero
Two decades of ethnic tension and a civil war in 1990 laid the groundwork for one of the most savage episodes of wanton slaughter witnessed in the past half century. The day after the airplane carrying Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana and the president of Burundi was shot down, the Rwandan military responded to the deaths of… Read More "The Rwandan Genocide — The View from Ground Zero"
The War in Bosnia and the Moral Dilemma of Refugees
The Bosnian War, which began April 5, 1992, was the result of the breakup of Yugoslavia. Pressure began to build in Bosnia-Herzegovina in February 1992 after the government passed a referendum for independence from Yugoslavia, which further exacerbated ethnic tensions in the already tense territory. Bosnian Serbs, who wished to be united in a Greater… Read More "The War in Bosnia and the Moral Dilemma of Refugees"
Consular Tales from Croatia — The Good, The Bad, and the Bianca Jagger
The Bosnian War spanned from April 1992 to December 1995 and was a result of ethnic tensions that boiled over after Bosnia declared independence from Yugoslavia. Bosnia was split between Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs, and Catholic Croats. Neighboring Croatia, which had declared independence earlier, sought to incorporate parts of Bosnian territory into Croatia and supported… Read More "Consular Tales from Croatia — The Good, The Bad, and the Bianca Jagger"