Operation Smiling Buddha was the assigned code name for India’s first nuclear weapons explosion on May 18th, 1974. India declared…
Responding to the Threat of Mass Atrocities
Drawing on his experiences as U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Ambassador Princeton Lyman highlights the decision making trade-offs he…
“There were no full bodies” – The Crash of Pan Am Flight 812 in Bali
On April 22, 1974, Pan American Flight 812, a plane known as the Clipper Climax, crashed into the mountainous terrain…
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…
“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…
The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan — December 1979
It was to last nearly a decade and would plant the seeds for the rise of the Taliban and Islamic…
An Axe Murder Triggers a Standoff in Korea’s DMZ, 1976
The United States and North Korea have not had the best relations, to put it mildly. Even in a place…
Averell Harriman, The Old Crocodile of Diplomacy
W. Averell Harriman was one of the more prominent public figures of the 20th Century, holding major positions in diplomacy,…
Schmoozing for Diplomats
To the uninitiated (or to those who simply watch too many B-movies), an ambassador’s life seems to be nothing but…
Ethiopian Flight 961 — The Worst Hijacking in History Before 9/11
On November 23, 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 was flying from Addis Ababa to Nairobi when the plane was hijacked…