Eight U.S. Ambassadors have died while on duty, six of whom were killed in armed attacks. The most recent was Chris Stevens, who died during the September 11, 2012 attack on Benghazi. (The other two ambassadors died in airplane crashes.) On August 28, 1968, Ambassador John Gordon Mein became the first U.S. ambassador to be… Read More "The Assassination of Ambassador John Gordon Mein, Guatemala, 1968"
Cyprus — August 1974: “It was a blind shot that got the Ambassador”
On August 19th, 1974, recently appointed Ambassador to Cyprus, Rodger Davies, was shot dead during a Greek Cypriot protest outside the U.S. Embassy. The demonstration brought out over 300 people who were protesting against the U.S.’s failure to prevent the Turkish invasion of the northern part of the island the week before. Davies was seeking… Read More "Cyprus — August 1974: “It was a blind shot that got the Ambassador”"
Terror on the 9th Floor — The Kuala Lumpur Hostage Crisis
On August 4th, 1975, five members of the Japanese Red Army or JRA – a militant organization intent on overthrowing the Japanese government and starting a worldwide revolution – stormed the United States embassy on the 9th floor the AIA Insurance building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The tallest building in Malaysia at the time, it… Read More "Terror on the 9th Floor — The Kuala Lumpur Hostage Crisis"
Guests of the Gestapo
Nazi Germany launched the Spring Offensive against France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in May 1940. Within six weeks it had achieved complete military dominance. The French government agreed to sign the Second Armistice agreement, whereby France was divided into two parts: the North was occupied by the Germans, while Vichy France was nominally independent. During this… Read More "Guests of the Gestapo"
“We’re in East Germany! We better get the hell out quick!”
It began as a routine trip to test artillery battalions. It ended as a minor international incident that lasted several weeks and potentially could have been even worse. In 1958 Colonel Frank Athanason, then a captain, and eight others lost their way and crashed in a forest in East Germany. They were picked up by… Read More "“We’re in East Germany! We better get the hell out quick!”"
Car Troubles: Caught in the Crosshairs of a Greek pro-democracy Protest
From 1970 to 1974, Charles Stuart Kennedy served as Consul General in Athens. While there, his wife Ellen, who wanted a quiet night out, was inadvertently caught in a political protest against the Regime of the Colonels, a series of right-wing military juntas that ruled Greece following the 1967 Greek coup d’état; the dictatorship ended in July 1974. Charles Stuart Kennedy recalls the event… Read More "Car Troubles: Caught in the Crosshairs of a Greek pro-democracy Protest"
A Completely Lawless Place – Beirut and the Assassination of Ambassador Meloy and Robert Waring
The Lebanese Civil War was a 15-year conflict that took the lives of more than 130,000 people. Throughout the early 1970s, divisions between Christian Maronites and Palestinians began to deepen and soon escalated into all-out war. While the war was largely a struggle between these two groups, the violence soon affected the U.S. On June… Read More "A Completely Lawless Place – Beirut and the Assassination of Ambassador Meloy and Robert Waring"
Japanese Terrorists in Israel
On May 30, 1972, Israeli security at Lod Airport (now Ben Gurion International Airport) was caught by surprise when three Japanese travelers opened fire upon their arrival. Airport security was focused on possible Palestinian attacks. The Japanese Red Army members, who were trained in Lebanon by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and… Read More "Japanese Terrorists in Israel"
The Attack on the U.S. Compound in Benghazi — September 11, 2012
The attack began the night of September 11, 2012, at a compound that is meant to protect the consulate building in Benghazi, Libya. A second assault early morning the next day targeted a nearby CIA annex in a different diplomatic compound. Four people were killed, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. Ten others were injured. The attack was strongly condemned by… Read More "The Attack on the U.S. Compound in Benghazi — September 11, 2012"
The Embassy Beirut Bombing — A Consular Officer’s Perspective
The suicide bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon on April 18, 1983 was the deadliest attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission up to that point. The blast killed sixty-three people, seventeen of whom were Americans. The attack is thought of as the beginning of anti-U.S. attacks from Islamist groups. This attack, along with… Read More "The Embassy Beirut Bombing — A Consular Officer’s Perspective"