The ongoing Eurozone crisis has taken on the dimensions of a long, repetitive Greek drama. After years of imposed austerity,…
Jordan’s Black September, 1970
In 1972, a group of Palestinian terrorists shocked the world by kidnapping eleven Israeli athletes during the Summer Olympics in…
The Road to Madrid — James Baker and the Middle East Peace Talks
The Madrid Peace Conference, held from October 30 to November 1, 1991, marked the first time that Israeli leaders negotiated…
“Do you know who I am?” – Diplomatic Immunity Gone Wrong
For the uninitiated, one of the apparent perks of being a diplomat is diplomatic immunity — You’ll never have to…
A First-Class Spy Flap: CIA Agents Compromised in Ghana
Relations between the United States and Ghana were strained in the early 1980s. Its leader, the enigmatic former Flight Lieutenant…
“Never get into an elevator with a Polish blonde” — More Honeypots
During the Cold War and beyond, Western diplomats had to constantly keep their wits about them when serving in the…
“Ich bin ein Berliner”
On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy stood in front of some half a million people in West Berlin…
Taiwan vs. China — Saber-Rattling Over The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis
Since 1979, the U.S. has maintained unofficial relations with Taiwan to preserve the U.S.’s recognition of the People’s Republic of…
The Seychelles – Gangsta’s Paradise
A country of white sand beaches and palm trees, the Seychelles is an exotic tourist destination. It also happens to…
The Iran-Contra Scandal
One of the biggest foreign policy scandals of the last half-century was the Iran-Contra affair, in which the Reagan Administration,…