Central America in the 1980s became a proxy battleground as the United States supported right-wing leaders against leftist socialist guerrillas…
Returning the Crown of Saint Stephen to post-Cold War Hungary
For centuries, it was the national symbol of a nation. For decades, it was kept in Fort Knox for safekeeping.…
The Afghan Invasion as Seen from U.S. Embassy Moscow
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was, among other things, a horrible political miscalculation, lasting nine bloody years and resulting in the…
Re-establishing Ties with Cuba, 1977
“Cuba ought to be free and independent, and the government should be turned over to the Cuban people.” That in…
NSFW FSOs
Diplomats by training, if not by disposition, are calm, level-headed types. They may be called on to deliver a harsh…
Chile’s 1988 Plebiscite and the End of Pinochet’s Dictatorship
The 1970s and 1980s were a long, dark time for Chile. The September 11, 1973 coup against Socialist president Salvador…
Secretary Ron Brown’s Plane Crashes in Croatia
On April 3rd, 1996, just before the Easter holiday, Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown was killed in a plane crash…
A Soldier Uncovers the Horrors of the Nazis’ Hadamar Camp
As a soldier in the U.S. Army towards the end of World War II, George Jaeger, who was part of…
Life in Ceausescu’s Romania
Romania in the 1970s was a study in contrasts. Traditionally a rich agricultural breadbasket, its backward economy could not provide…
The Iran Hostage Crisis — “I had very little faith in my government protecting me”
On November 4, 1979, some 3000 radical Iranian students protested at the U.S. embassy. The embassy had been taken over…