As violence and protests against Nicaragua’s despotic government increased, the U.S. and the Organization of American States (OAS) tried to…
Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s Founding Father
Lee Kuan Yew, who died in March 2015, is known for being the longest serving prime minster in the world…
Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan 2004-2008: Development
Chronic instability, beginning before the Soviet invasion, helped destroy Afghanistan’s already underdeveloped economy. After 9/11, the United States dedicated billions of…
Poison as a Weapon in Putin’s Russia
Russia’s tumultuous history is replete with backstabbing — sometimes literal — where the powerful would seek their vengeance with a…
The Reign of the Snake – The Seedy Tenure of Togo’s President Eyadema
Extravagant dinners with Dom Pérignon and caviar, rampant corruption, political assassinations, a starving populace. Togo had been a small jewel…
The Light at the End of the Tunnel — Surviving a Nazi POW Camp
Fredrick Irving’s plane was shot down over Magyarovar, Hungary during World War II. Right after hitting the ground, three Hungarian farmers…
The Risk of a Lonely Drive: The U.S. Consul General in Guadalajara Describes His Kidnapping
Mexico has often been a dangerous place, particularly in the 1970s with the heightened activity of organized crime syndicates and…
Celebrating the Leadership of America’s Ambassadors of African Descent
Ask any five people on an American college campus or maybe even on the streets of any major city, to…
“Our Man is Inside” — The U.S. Ambassador, Kidnapped at a Reception
In Latin America, the mid to late 20th Century was a time characterized by military governments, guerrilla movements, and intense political…
Rehabilitating Former Child Soldiers in Mozambique
Mozambique in the 1980s was a country in the midst of a bloody civil war, when at least 100,000 people…