The 444-day-long Iran Hostage Crisis ranks as one of the most traumatic diplomatic events in U.S. history and even thirty years later still colors diplomatic relations with Iran. In these excerpts, John Limbert describes the negotiations that eventually led to the release of all the hostages Iranian Revolutionaries attacked the embassy, their (surprisingly) triumphant arrival in… Read More "444 Days — The End Game"
444 Days: Memoirs of an Iran Hostage
More than thirty years later, the Iran Hostage crisis still ranks as one of the most traumatic diplomatic events in U.S. history. Dissatisfied with the corrupt and ineffective regime of Reza Shah Pahlavi, many Iranian citizens began protesting the Iranian government in 1977. In 1979 after nearly two years of protests and strikes, the Shah was… Read More "444 Days: Memoirs of an Iran Hostage"
Dissidents, Spies, and Attack Cartoons — Life at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana
Diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba were frozen in time for more than 50 years. After the U.S. formally severed ties on January 3, 1961, the two countries were not technically represented by embassies but rather Interests Sections, both under the diplomatic aegis of the Swiss Embassy. Relations were restored on July 20, 2015. From… Read More "Dissidents, Spies, and Attack Cartoons — Life at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana"
Halloweens Around the World
BOO! Halloween is a holiday on October 31st where costumes, tricks, and treats reign supreme. Originally a pagan holiday, Halloween is a time when children, and often times adults, dress up in silly and creative costumes; some go door to door asking for candy while others attend costumes parties and dance the night away. Though Halloween… Read More "Halloweens Around the World"
When Diplomats Kill
Bradford Bishop and Gérard Amanrich were highly esteemed American and French diplomats, respectively. The two men were bright, motivated, and had a lot going for them: Bishop was a skilled Foreign Service officer with a picture-perfect family, while Amanrich was a former Ambassador to the Vatican with a lovely wife and kids. While their lives… Read More "When Diplomats Kill"
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956
The early 1950s witnessed a thaw in the Communist monolith. Stalin’s death in 1953 led to Khrushchev’s “secret speech” in 1956 which condemned excesses of the past. The U.S. and USSR agreed to a treaty in 1955 establishing Austria as a neutral and demilitarized country, which encouraged hopes in Hungary of a similar arrangement. July… Read More "The Hungarian Revolution of 1956"
Establishing Ties with Pakistan — 1947
It was the end of one era and the beginning of another. In August 1947 the British Empire, which had ruled the Indian subcontinent as part of the Raj since the mid-19th century, granted independence to the India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Muslim League, which arose in the 1930s in order to… Read More "Establishing Ties with Pakistan — 1947"
Learning the Brazilian Candomble Dance
Candomblé, meaning “dance in honor of the gods” in Portuguese, is an Afro-Brazilian religion developed during the earliest days of slave trade by Africans forced into slavery in Brazil. Those of this faith believe that each individual possesses their own personal orixa, or deity, that both acts as a protector and controls their destiny. A… Read More "Learning the Brazilian Candomble Dance"
Khrushchev Visits America – A Cold War Comedy of Errors, Act II
In September of 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States on an unprecedented goodwill trip spanning several days, thousands of miles and which was covered by a huge press corps. In stark contrast to the finely orchestrated tours and campaign stops that are common nowadays, the visit was a series of flubs and… Read More "Khrushchev Visits America – A Cold War Comedy of Errors, Act II"
Khrushchev Visits America – A Cold War Comedy of Errors, Act I
Amid the descent of the Iron Curtain, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, and the conflict in Vietnam lies one of the more bizarre moments of the Cold War – Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s goodwill tour of the United States that began on September 15, 1959. While some may have heard of Khrushchev’s failed attempt to… Read More "Khrushchev Visits America – A Cold War Comedy of Errors, Act I"