Would you be willing to hire a potential foreign intelligence agent if it meant direct access to an antagonistic, elusive…
Spy vs. Spy: The Yin-he Incident and U.S.-China Intelligence Rivalry
Was the intelligence correct? Was the U.S. being set up? These were questions facing John Tkacik when the United States…
Stirrings of Islamic Militancy in Nigeria: An Ambassador’s Recollections
When Thomas Pickering was Ambassador to Nigeria in 1980-83, he witnessed the stirrings of Islamic militancy and other transformations of…
Building a USAID Program in a Country With No Roads: The Case of South Sudan
USAID Mission Director William Hammink’s troubles began shortly before his 2009 arrival in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital; President Omar al-Bashir…
Benazir Bhutto, USAID, and Girls’ Education in Pakistan
Nine days after David Sprague arrived in Pakistan to work for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a plane…
Talking to Soviet Soldiers During the 1991 Coup Attempt: A U.S. Defense Attaché’s Tale
James Cox knew that Soviet officers would stonewall a foreigner like him, but there was a chance that regular soldiers…
USAID Helps Sri Lanka Respond to 1996 Bombing of Central Bank–And Avert Financial Chaos
One of the deadliest terror acts in Sri Lanka’s long civil war was the 1996 bombing of the Central Bank,…
Pakistan, Population, and Development in the Early 1960s
You might never guess that the work of a USAID Program Economist could result in a trip to the Vatican…
Strobe Talbott: From Foreign Affairs Journalist to Number Two at the Department of State
What is it like to transition from the senior ranks of American journalism to a top job in an agency…
The “Blood Telegram” That Angered Henry Kissinger: Violence in East Pakistan/Bangladesh
Shortly after joining USAID in 1969, Desaix “Terry” Meyers found himself witnessing both the aftermath of a major natural disaster,…