Foreign Service Officer Thomas Donohue served in both continental and archipelagic Southeast Asia during a tumultuous period in which countries…
Drowning in a Strawberry Ice Cream Soda: Life as a Diplomat in the Philippines
World powers, including the United States, have long considered the Philippines to be of strategic importance. The entire landmass of…
Disposition in Diplomacy
Bureaucracies are often considered dry and difficult to navigate. However, every organization is only as good as the people who…
“Dining is the Soul of Diplomacy”
Lord Palmerston, a former British prime minister and three time foreign minister, once famously noted, “Dining is the soul of…
The Last Ones Left: Inside the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
With a simple “good luck” from President Richard Nixon, Ambassador Joseph Farland set out to Pakistan, unsure of what to…
Back to Back—U.S. and Honduran Election Highlights
While U.S. politics can be contentious, American elections themselves tend to run smoothly. Usually, voters cast their ballots, numbers are…
An Unconventional Leader—Pope Francis Transforms the Vatican
White smoke billowed from the Vatican, indicating that the College of Cardinals had cast their ballots. Jorge Mario Bergolgio, a…
The Felix Bloch Affair: An Unsolved Case of Cold War Espionage
In 1989, French counterintelligence agents watched Felix Bloch as he dined in Paris with known Soviet spy “Pierre Bart.” Bloch…
Kwame Nkrumah and the United States — A Tumultuous Relationship
Ghana and the United States have historically boasted a close friendship, partnering together in exchange programs, trade, and development initiatives.…
Rough Landing: Controlled Aircraft Crash in Honduras
Towards the end of his posting in Honduras, Ambassador Frank Almaguer received multiple requests from other countries’ ambassadors for transportation…