In August 1991, Soviet hardliners attempted to overthrow the progressive Mikhail Gorbachev, Secretary General of the Communist Party, in a…
Former Russian FM: “We need each other now more than ever”
In the wake of the terrible tragedy of Malaysian flight 17, which was shot down over Ukraine on July 17,…
The 1969 ‘Soccer War’ Between Honduras and El Salvador
Every four years, the world’s attention turns to the spectacle that is the World Cup. Rivalries can be fierce as…
Persecution of the Kurds: The Documents of Saddam’s Secret Police
The Kurds have had a long and troubled history in Iraq. Under Saddam Hussein tens of thousands of Kurds were…
Spain’s King Juan Carlos I, The Early Years
The fate of 20th Century Spain was molded in large part by two men: long-time dictator Generalissimo Francisco Franco, who…
A Brief History of the Consular Service
When most people think about consular matters, if they think about them at all, it’s only because they are having…
Top Ten Things You Learn From a Hostage Situation
Sometimes it just ain’t easy working for the State Department. If you go through the lengthy history of the Foreign Service…
Making the World a Safer Place — Nuclear Arsenals and the Fall of the USSR
Imagine what Europe would be like today if Belarusian strongman Aleksandr Lukashenka were able to threaten his neighbors with nuclear…
The Rwandan Genocide — The View from Ground Zero
Two decades of ethnic tension and a civil war in 1990 laid the groundwork for one of the most savage…
The Downing of KAL Flight 007
On August 30, 1983, a Boeing 747, Korean Airlines 007 took off for Seoul from New York’s John F. Kennedy…