On the first day of January 1979, the United States de-recognized the Republic of China (also known as Taiwan or…
Warriors without Weapons – Recruiting FSOs to Rebuild Iraq
In the lead-up to the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, State Department officials realized they would need to deploy scores…
Admiral William Leahy, Ambassador to Vichy
When Admiral William Leahy retired as Chief of Naval Operations in August 1939, President Roosevelt personally awarded him the…
The 1991 Iraq War — The Battle at the UN
As an after-effect of the Iraq-Iran War which raged from 1980 to 1988, Baghdad found itself crippled by debts to…
The Canadian Caper, Argo, and Escape from Iran
The years leading up to the autumn of 1979 in Iran proved to be turbulent, resulting in a radical transformation…
House Un-American: Foreign-Born Wives of American Diplomats
Before World War II, there was a concern, particularly with upper-level Foreign Service officers like Ambassador William C. Bullitt, regarding…
Putin, The Early Years
From his crackdown on domestic opposition to his decision to invade Crimea and bomb U.S.-backed rebels in Syria, Vladimir Putin…
Eyes of the Dragon — Under Surveillance in China
The extent of the surveillance operations of the Soviet KGB is legendary, but the Soviet Union was not the only…
Drug-Sniffing Mongooses and Other Tales of the Sri Lankan Civil War
In July 1983, tensions increased between Tamil minority separatists and the Sinhalese majority in Sri Lanka, erupting into civil war.…
A Dissident for Dinner — George H.W. Bush’s Ill-Fated Banquet in China
An essential part of being an ambassador is knowing how to push the envelope when it comes to dealing with…