Social unrest, political fragmentation, drug trafficking, and violence all characterized the late 70’s in Bolivia. All of the major parties…
Delivering the Mail and Avoiding Martial Law in South Korea, 1987
Chun Doo-hwan, president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988, seized power in 1979 and crushed many democratization movements during…
“Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall!”
On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan made one of his most famous Cold War speeches at the Berlin Wall.…
“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…
Tom Clancy Bombs Korea
Remember when renegade South Korean soldiers set off a bomb in Seoul during a festival and make it look like it was done by…
“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…
Crossing Qaddafi’s Line of Death – April 15, 1986
The late 1980s saw an alarming decline in U.S.-Libyan relations. A plane hijacking and airport attacks in Rome and Vienna…
Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady
One of the most prominent political figures in Cold War history, Margaret Thatcher, led Britain as the only female prime…