The spread of AIDS in Africa in the 1980s and 90s presented unique challenges for U.S. diplomats suddenly faced with…
The 1974 Turkish Intervention in Cyprus
The “Cyprus problem” of ongoing conflict between the Greeks and Turks on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus came to a…
The Iraqi Revolution — of 1958
In 1958, the 14 July Revolution ended the thirty-seven-year Hashemite monarchy of Iraq in a coup d’état and established the…
More No-tell CODELs
Members of Congress often travel abroad on official trips for business purposes in order to meet with governmental officials and…
The Whistle-Blower: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
“We were young, we were foolish, we were arrogant, but we were right.” —Daniel Ellsberg The recent issue of NSA…
A House of Cards – The Collapse of Yugoslavia
Over a bloody three years, hundreds of thousands of former Yugoslav residents were dislocated, imprisoned, raped, tortured, starved, and massacred…
The Strange Case of Ngo Dinh Can
It sounds like a scene out of a movie: a corrupt dictator attempts to flee the country with the help…
8 Weird Things You Didn’t Know About American Diplomats
OK, when you think about State Department types — if you think about them at all — chances are they’re…
When Ambassadors Were Rock Stars
It is difficult in this day and age to imagine any ambassador being on the cover of a major magazine…
Inside Foggy Bottom
Foggy Bottom, so called because its location alongside the Potomac made it susceptible to dense concentrations of fog and industrial smoke, refers not only…