Shortly after Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein and his Republican Guard forces took hundreds of Americans…
Dangerous Roads – Carjacking and the Foreign Service
Foreign Service officers are trained to handle and adapt to any number of highly dangerous situations. One such situation is…
A First-Class Spy Flap: CIA Agents Compromised in Ghana
Relations between the United States and Ghana were strained in the early 1980s. Its leader, the enigmatic former Flight Lieutenant…
“We are as Firm as a Monkey Tail” – Baby Doc Duvalier Leaves Haiti
For much of the 20th century, Haiti was under the control of the Duvalier family, headed by Francois “Papa Doc”…
The End of an Era — Handholding Ferdinand Marcos in Exile
Just minutes after returning from his three-year exile, former Philippine Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated at the Manila airport…
Evacuating Uganda — With Style
From 1971-1979, Uganda was under the control of the mercurial Idi Amin, one of the most brutal military dictators ever…
Horrible Bosses: Internal Tension at the U.S. Mission in Geneva
After years of serving in Africa, you finally get a nice cushy assignment at the U.S. Mission in Geneva, with…
The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan — December 1979
It was to last nearly a decade and would plant the seeds for the rise of the Taliban and Islamic…
The U.S. Invades “A Little Island Called Grenada,” Part II
Planned in secret and executed quickly, the U.S. intervention garnered a mixed and fervent reaction. For the most part, the…
The U.S. Invades “A Little Island Called Grenada,” Part I
In one of the smallest proxies of the Cold War, the United States, with the support of troops from other…