An unfortunate, but not uncommon, part of a consul’s job is to help American citizens who are in distress —…
The Terrorist Attack on the Saudi Embassy — Khartoum, 1973
Less than a year after its members murdered 11 Israeli athletes and one German police guard during the 1972 Summer…
The Show Trial of U-2 Pilot Francis Gary Powers
On May 1, 1960, an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union and its pilot, Francis…
The Assassination of Ambassador Spike Dubs — Kabul, 1979
Adolph “Spike” Dubs was a career diplomat who served in Germany, Liberia, and the Soviet Union. He became a noted Soviet expert, and in…
The USS Pueblo Incident — Assassins in Seoul, A Spy Ship Captured
January of 1968 saw two of the most serious incidents to occur on the Korean peninsula since the end of…
The Jonestown Massacre
Jonestown, Guyana was the scene of one of the most harrowing tragedies in American history. On November 18, 1978, at…
The Anguish of Surrender
Back to Diplomats and Diplomacy The Anguish of Surrender: Japanese POWs of WWII “The Anguish of Surrender is a marvelous…
ADST Staff
President – Susan Rockwell Johnson is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. She retired in 2015 and has…
The U.S. Embassy Nairobi Bombings
It was one of the most horrific events in U.S. diplomatic history. On August 7, 1998, between 10:30 and 10:40…