The United States Intelligence Community was, infamously, heavily involved in the Cold War. The tensions between the United States and…
The Fall of South Vietnam and Operation Babylift
The fall of Saigon and the chaotic evacuation of the U.S. Embassy is one of the most infamous episodes in…
“A Special Place in My Heart:” Memories of USAID in Vietnam
Images of the U.S. military in Vietnam are part of the American consciousness. But these images are only part of…
Development and Defoliation During the Vietnam War: A USAID Officer’s Tale
How do you reconcile the goals of the U.S. military, USAID development workers and State Department diplomats in the midst…
A USAID Officer Recalls Vietnam’s Tet Offensive
It wasn’t just soldiers. USAID officer George Laudato was at his home in Mỹ Tho in 1968 when mortars started…
Long Before He Headed the CIA, James Woolsey Challenged Paul Nitze Over the Vietnam War
For a young lieutenant to challenge the number two man in the Department of Defense over Vietnam policy in 1969…
Reopening the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam: Conflicting Emotions
Secretary of State Warren Christopher arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam in 1995 to reopen the U.S. Embassy just after three weeks…
Bombing North Vietnam into Accepting Our Concessions: Christmas Bombings, 1972
President Richard Nixon ordered plans for retaliatory bombings of North Vietnam after talks to end the war in Vietnam broke…
Agent Orange and the Vietnam War
In 1961, United States forces in Vietnam began to use chemical herbicides and defoliants on South Vietnamese crops, bushes, and…
Brother, Can you Spare me some Stew?: Hot, Hungry, and Abandoned in Vietnam
Speaking a foreign language is critical in the Foreign Service and can sometimes rescue you from the diciest situations. Case…