Less than a month before President Richard Nixon’s resignation on August 9, 1974, he took a presidential tour of the…
Incoming! Surviving SCUD Attacks in Dhahran
Ken Stammerman was economic counselor in Kuwait from 1986 to 1987 before becoming consul general in Dhahran in 1989. Home…
Early American Diplomacy in the Near and Far East
Back to Diplomats and Diplomacy Early American Diplomacy in the Near and Far East: The Diplomatic and Personal History…
Desert Storm: “The War Never Really Ended” — Part II
Chas Freeman was U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm and consulted frequently with General Norman Schwarzkopf and others…
Desert Storm “The War Never Really Ended” — Part I
It was the first major foreign policy crisis for the U.S. since the end of the Cold War. Iraq, which…
Hard Rock Hotel Panama: Noriega and the U.S. Invasion, Part II
The U.S. and SOUTHCOM had spent considerable time and effort planning for the invasion and had mapped out several places…
Fifty Years in USAID
Back to Memoirs and Occasional Papers Fifty Years in USAID: Stories from the Front Line Published in November 2012 by…
The Iran Hostage Crisis– Part II
In these excerpts, Bruce Laingen, then Charge d’Affaires of U.S. Embassy Tehran and one of the “super Satans” kept hostage at 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…
Fascinating Figures
Diplomacy and foreign policy attract some of the smartest, most dedicated, and most interesting figures in every generation. In this…