Working with nuclear materials is, by its very nature, volatile. Carrying out diplomacy over nuclear materials is even more so.…
CORDS: A New Pacification Program for Vietnam
The Vietnam War was one of the most challenging and complex conflicts of the Cold War era. As the conflict…
Egypt Before the Arab Spring: Shifting Tides of Democracy and Westernization
The Arab Spring began in late 2010 as a series of anti-government protests throughout several Middle Eastern countries that permanently…
9/11 Terror Attacks: A Consular Officer’s Perspective on Visas and Government Intelligence
September 11, 2001 marked one of the worst ever terror attacks on American soil. Two hijacked planes crashed into and…
Fiscal Relief in a Tumultuous Time—The Paris Club in the Nineties
At the end of World War II, Argentina was entrenched in debt and on the verge of defaulting to its…
Fighting the War on Drugs with Bus Stops and Law Books: USAID in Bolivia
As the Cold War died down, U.S. assistance to Latin America shifted focus to a new war: the war on…
Promoting International Tennis Diplomacy in Bahrain
In the heat of the Iran-Iraq War, paranoia and uncertainty engulfed the region, with many American allies looking to the…
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…
USAID and American “Whole-of-Government” Efforts in Afghanistan, 2004-2005
USAID had to cooperate closely with the U.S. military and others in a “whole-of-government” effort to stabilize and develop Afghanistan…
Witness to the Arab Spring in Tunisia
In December 2010, Tunisian fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi proved that it can take just a single moment to spark a…