Haiti is a land of great beauty and of great suffering. The Haitian proverb, bay kou bliye, pote mak sonje…
Rolling Thunder: Behind the Fog of War
The call by South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Khánh on July 19, 1964 to expand the Vietnam conflict led to…
A Personnel Tragedy
Charles William Thomas was a bright mid-career Foreign Service officer who was selected out because his efficiency report was mixed…
A First-Class Spy Flap: CIA Agents Compromised in Ghana
Relations between the United States and Ghana were strained in the early 1980s. Its leader, the enigmatic former Flight Lieutenant…
Operation Winter Warmth – Helping Armenia in Its Darkest Hour
When Armenia gained its independence after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, it was in dire straits. It was…
The Ivory Coast’s Félix Houphouët-Boigny – “A Master Manipulator and Destabilizer”
The late President Félix Houphouët-Boigny of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) did not look like a “strong man.” He was small…
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…
Cracking the Glass Ceiling: A Conversation with Foreign Service Women
Despite their education and background, women Foreign Service Officers in the 1950s and 60s faced discrimination and were often treated…
American Diplomacy at Risk
A strong State Department, based on a strong Foreign Service and a strong Civil Service, is a critical component of…
A Thieving U.S. Citizen Wreaks Havoc at the U.S Embassy in Nicaragua
It is a commonly held belief that while abroad as a U.S. citizen, the American government and its embassy will…