On September 1st, 1969 Muammar Qaddafi along with a group of officers part of the Free Officers Movement staged a…
“We Didn’t Start the Fire”: Billy Joel Sums up World History with a Single Song
“We Didn’t Start the Fire” was a huge commercial success when it was released in 1989. It was Billy Joel’s…
“Without respect, America’s power just seeps away”
Walter Mondale, born in Ceylon, Minnesota on January 5, 1928, was the 42nd Vice President of the U.S. under Jimmy…
The Art of Protocol
Understanding the rules of protocol is essential to conducting diplomacy, as any diplomat would attest. Everything from knowing how to…
“The U.S. values amateurism over professionalism in diplomacy”
Chas W. Freeman, Jr. is one of those rare diplomats with brilliant language abilities who also was involved in an…
The Embassy Beirut Bombing — A Consular Officer’s Perspective
The suicide bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon on April 18, 1983 was the deadliest attack on a…
Hard Rock Hotel Panama — Noriega and the U.S. Invasion, Part I
Beginning in the middle of the 1980s, relations between General Manuel Noriega, Panama’s de facto leader, and the United States…
Philip Habib — Cursed is the Peacemaker
Philip Habib (February 25, 1920 – May 25, 1992) was a career diplomat known for his work in Vietnam, South Korea and the Middle East.…
The Iran Hostage Crisis — Part I
November 4, 1979 – Radical Iranian students take over the U.S. embassy in Tehran and hold 52 Americans hostage. The…
Tie a Yellow Ribbon — The Iran Hostage Crisis as Seen from the Home Front
Penelope (Penne) Laingen is the wife of Bruce Laingen, who had served in Germany, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan before being…