One of the most defining moments of the twentieth century was the detonation of an atomic bomb over the Japanese…
Dealing with a Leftist Dipsomaniac: The United States and Ecuador’s Carlos Arosemena
At the beginning of the 1960s, U.S. foreign policy had two bugbears: the Soviet Union and Cuba. Fidel Castro had…
Setting the Record Straight: Accountability in Reporting on the Guatemalan Economy
For policymakers to make the right decisions, it is crucial that they first have the right information. With this in…
Life as a Vietnam War POW
In 1966, well into the Vietnam War and three years into Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency, Charles Graham Boyd took his…
Fighting the War on Drugs with Bus Stops and Law Books: USAID in Bolivia
As the Cold War died down, U.S. assistance to Latin America shifted focus to a new war: the war on…
Keeping the Skies Open: Defending the Open Skies Treaty
The checkered history between Russia and the United States was arguably the most transformational relationship for world events in the…
Economic Diplomacy and the Private Sector: Helping IBM Expand into Latin America
In 1984 Donald Lyman left the State Department after seven years of service. Although it was a brief stint compared…
The End of Omar al-Bashir—New Hope for Sudan
Since becoming independent from its former colonizer, the Republic of Sudan has fluctuated between democratically elected governments and severe dictatorships.…
Wikileaks: The Revelation That Shook U.S. Diplomacy
As the hearings of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange continue, the question of whether he will be extradited to the United…
“I Heard Something Ticking Away”—Diplomats Dealing With Explosives
Managing personal security is an important part of a Foreign Service Officer’s training. Weapons of mass destruction, sexual assault, cyberattacks,…