The Falklands War began as a tragically misguided game of smoke and mirrors, designed to inflame Argentinian patriotism and redirect attention away from internal crises. As economic stagnation and vocal dissatisfaction with the ruling military juntas persisted, General Leopoldo Galtieri and Admiral Jorge Anaya orchestrated an unprovoked invasion of the Falklands, a thinly populated archipelago… Read More "“There Will be Blood:” The British Recapture the Falklands"
Top Ten Things You Learn From a Hostage Situation
Sometimes it just ain’t easy working for the State Department. If you go through the lengthy history of the Foreign Service in the second half of the 20th Century, there are a surprising number of diplomats who have been held hostage. And while the situations and political context are very different, certain things do stand out.…
James A. Baker III — The Velvet Hammer
James A. Baker served as the Secretary of State during the Presidency of George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1992, a period that included such events as the collapse of the Soviet Union, the First Gulf War, and renewed Arab-Israeli peace talks. Remembered as a skilled diplomat and negotiator, Secretary Baker was given the Ralph…
Guns and Ganja: Marijuana Usage in the Foreign Service
Like many countries, the U.S. has recently grappled with the issue of how to deal with marijuana usage: Should it be legalized or merely decriminalized? What about the use of medical marijuana? What are the human costs if possession is a felony? And what are the costs if it’s readily available? The following excerpts provide… Read More "Guns and Ganja: Marijuana Usage in the Foreign Service"
“The First Terrorist Attack in the U.S.” – The Letelier-Moffitt Assassinations
After Augusto Pinochet led a coup d’état in Chile on September 11, 1973, taking power from the democratically elected President Salvador Allende, he exiled Allende’s Foreign Minister, Orlando Letelier. After Letelier sought asylum in the United States, Pinochet believed he was acting as an informant to the U.S. government. Consequently, he was targeted by the Pinochet… Read More "“The First Terrorist Attack in the U.S.” – The Letelier-Moffitt Assassinations"
The Final Days of Paraguaya’s Alfredo Stroessner
On February 3rd, 1989 tanks rolled into Paraguay’s capital Asuncion, led by General Andres Rodriguez. Briefly bullets and bombs rattled the city, and — after 33 years in power — President Alfredo Stroessner was quickly overthrown. Stroessner fled to Brazil, where he stayed until his death in August 16, 2006. In these excerpts, James F.… Read More "The Final Days of Paraguaya’s Alfredo Stroessner"
Castro’s Cuba – The Early Days
On January 1, 1959, after a sustained armed revolt led by Fidel Castro and others took control over most of the country, Fulgencio Batista fled Havana, marking the end of one era and the beginning of another. With the departure of the despised dictator, there was initially hope that life in Cuba would improve. William… Read More "Castro’s Cuba – The Early Days"
In Ambassador We Don’t Trust: Working Under the Leadership of the Infamous Turner Shelton
As movies like “The Devil Wore Prada” attest, bad bosses can make everyone’s life miserable (and can be quite entertaining for those who don’t have to work for them). When he served in Managua, Nicaragua, James Cheek had a front-row seat to Ambassador Turner Shelton, whom he describes as “the worst of the worst.” Shelton was… Read More "In Ambassador We Don’t Trust: Working Under the Leadership of the Infamous Turner Shelton"
The Dramatic Hostage Crisis and Daring Rescue at the Japanese Embassy in Peru
It sounds like something out of a novel: a group of rebels, helped by an American, seize an embassy in a South American country and hold dozens of people hostage for more than four months. Indeed, the Japanese Embassy hostage crisis inspired the 2001 best-selling novel Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, winner of the PEN/Faulkner… Read More "The Dramatic Hostage Crisis and Daring Rescue at the Japanese Embassy in Peru"
An Iran-Contra War Story with Oliver North
Oliver North is a former United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel who served as a National Security Council staff member during the Iran–Contra affair, a political scandal involving the clandestine sale of weapons to Iran, which was to encourage the release of U.S. hostages then held in Lebanon. North formulated the second part of the plan which was to divert proceeds from the arms sales to support the Contra rebel groups in Nicaragua (which… Read More "An Iran-Contra War Story with Oliver North"