Popular U.S. politicians and their wives often become celebrities to the public, both home and abroad. This can make state…
The Death of Ambassador Arnold Raphel
U.S. relations with Pakistan have often had a disproportionate importance. In the 1980’s, they were again front and center in…
Contempt with a Capital Tea
Oftentimes, high-level diplomatic exchanges are not characterized by the usual diplomatic niceties. Take, for example, a memorable meeting between Indian Foreign Minister…
The Division of Cyprus: Paradise with a Problem
Cyprus gained independence from the United Kingdom on August 16, 1960, but the agreements that led to sovereignty failed to…
Loy Henderson, Mr. Foreign Service
Loy Henderson (1892-1986) is one of the most storied figures in American diplomatic history. Beginning his career in 1922, he…
Kissinger and Lord in China: A How-To Guide for Secret Negotiations
At the height of the Cold War, with the death toll mounting in Vietnam and the split between the USSR…
Marquita Maytag: The Shrew of Kathmandu
Nepal is a small mountainous country in South Asia, bordered by India and the Tibetan autonomous region of China, which…
Sound and the Fury — The 1954 Geneva Conference on Vietnam and Korea
In April 1954, amidst growing tensions regarding the situation in the Korean Peninsula and Indochina, the international community convened a…
Terror in the Sky — Hezbollah Seizes TWA Flight 847
The summer of 1985 was a particularly gruesome one for terrorist incidents. One of the more memorable was the hijacking…
Recant and Released — Smoking Gun Shoots Blanks
In 1982, Cold War tensions led to growing concerns about Soviet and Cuban influence in Central America. Following the overthrow…