On December 9, 1987, the deaths of four Palestinian refugees plunged the nation of Israel into four years of strikes,…
The Overthrow of President Obote and Evacuation from Uganda
After a disputed election brought Milton Obote (at right) to power in Uganda in 1980, one of his opponents, Yoweri…
Dean Rusk — A “Silent Buddha” Amidst Chaos
Dean Rusk served as Secretary of State for eight controversial years, from 1961 through 1969, when public discomfort over his…
A House of Cards – The Collapse of Yugoslavia
Over a bloody three years, hundreds of thousands of Europeans were dislocated, imprisoned, raped, tortured, starved and massacred as an…
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The Famine in Biafra — USAID’s Response to the Nigerian Civil War
Known as the ‘Giant of Africa,’ Nigeria stretches across the continent like a patchwork quilt, sewn together from dozens of…
Baker’s Half Dozen — Six Precepts of Foreign Policy
A skilled diplomat and negotiator, James A. Baker III served as the Secretary of State during a period of tumultuous change, including…
Nelson Mandela’s Road to the Presidency
May 9th, 1994 marked one of the most significant – and previously unimaginable – milestones in modern African history as…
Top Ten Things You Learn From a Hostage Situation
Sometimes it just ain’t easy working for the State Department. If you go through the lengthy history of the Foreign Service…
The Rwandan Genocide — The View from Ground Zero
Two decades of ethnic tension and a civil war in 1990 laid the groundwork for one of the most savage…
The Downing of KAL Flight 007
On August 30, 1983, a Boeing 747, Korean Airlines 007 took off for Seoul from New York’s John F. Kennedy…