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"
Tom Clancy Bombs Korea
Remember when renegade South Korean soldiers set off a bomb in Seoul during a festival and make it look like it was done by North Korea? And how the head of the Operations Center and the former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Gregory Donald had to prove that North Korea had nothing to do with it before the situation got… Read More "Tom Clancy Bombs Korea"
Independence and “Catastrophe”: The Deadly Founding of Israel, May 14, 1948
On May 15, 1948, the UK withdrew from Palestine. (It had been given a mandate over the territories after it defeated the Ottomans in World War I.) The evening before, David Ben-Gurion, President of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared Israel’s statehood and independence. This prompted the Syrian, Egyptian, Jordanian, Iraqi, and Saudi Arabian armies to invade Israel.… Read More "Independence and “Catastrophe”: The Deadly Founding of Israel, May 14, 1948"
Dealing with a PR Disaster – The U.S. Bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade
On May 7, 1999, U.S. warplanes accidentally dropped laser-guided bombs on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during NATO’s intervention in Yugoslavia. The strike was meant to target a warehouse storing Yugoslav munitions, but the maps given to NATO were out-of-date. Three Chinese citizens were killed and twenty were wounded. The Chinese blamed America for deliberately… Read More "Dealing with a PR Disaster – The U.S. Bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade"
The Day Venezuelans Attacked Nixon
In the spring of 1958, President Eisenhower sent Vice President Nixon on a tour of Latin America to improve relations. Unfortunately, the tour would create even more friction, as it was punctuated by protests in various countries, including Ecuador and Peru. His May 13 visit to Venezuela turned violent and threatened the safety of the… Read More "The Day Venezuelans Attacked Nixon"
Back in the USSR — Life as a Student in Moscow in the 1960s
Grim. Tedious. Unrelentingly cold and dreary. Add in KGB surveillance and the fear that they truly were out to get you and you have the makings of one memorable graduate year abroad. Dr. Naomi F. Collins has enjoyed a storied life and career in academia, non-profit work and various other areas. Some of her most… Read More "Back in the USSR — Life as a Student in Moscow in the 1960s"
The Year of Living Dangerously – Indonesia and the Downed CIA Pilot, May 1958
In April and May of 1958, Indonesia went through a period of rebellion, as discontent on the peripheral islands, like Sumatra, grew because of lack of support and autonomy from the central government, which is located on the island of Java. Although Sukarno’s government was not communist, it did allow the communists to participate politically.… Read More "The Year of Living Dangerously – Indonesia and the Downed CIA Pilot, May 1958"
Apocalypse Not, Part II
On April 29, 1975, Francis Terry McNamara, then Consul General, finally received orders to evacuate the Consulate General in Can Tho, Vietnam. By that time, the U.S. had resigned itself to the fall of Saigon and McNamara and others had been evacuating the most vulnerable Vietnamese staff. McNamara had also been preparing for a water-borne… Read More "Apocalypse Not, Part II"
Apocalypse Not – The Evacuation from Can Tho, Vietnam — April 1975
The shaky peace that had held in Vietnam since the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in 1973 began to crumble in late 1974 after North Vietnam began a series of military offensives which pushed the South Vietnamese army back on its heels. By early 1975 it had become painfully apparent that there would not… Read More "Apocalypse Not – The Evacuation from Can Tho, Vietnam — April 1975"
The Fall of Saigon — April 30, 1975
April 30, 1975 will long be remembered as the day that Saigon fell and with it, the end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. It also marked the beginning of Vietnam’s unification as a “socialist republic.” North Vietnamese forces began their final attack on Saigon on April 29, with a heavy artillery bombardment. This bombardment at the… Read More "The Fall of Saigon — April 30, 1975"