“There was real jubilation in the streets the first few weeks. It’s still known as the Revolution of the Carnations,…
No Good Deed – Cattle, the French, and Getting PNG’ed from Madagascar
While U.S. diplomatic missions attempt to build relationships with the nations in which they maintain embassies, these relationships don’t always…
The Khobar Tower Bombings
On June 25, 1996 a truck containing an estimated 5,000-pound bomb drove to the northern perimeter of the Khobar Towers…
The End of an Era — Handholding Ferdinand Marcos in Exile
Just minutes after returning from his three-year exile, former Philippine Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated at the Manila airport…
Rehabilitating Former Child Soldiers in Mozambique
Mozambique in the 1980s was a country in the midst of a bloody civil war, when at least 100,000 people…
Johnny Young – From Abject Poverty to Chief of Mission
Johnny Young, who served in the Foreign Service from 1967 to 2005, was born into abject poverty in the Deep…
Yemen and the War on Terror
The ongoing political tumult in Yemen threatens to undermine the country as well as American counterterrorism efforts in the region.…
A Dream Deferred
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a…
Re-establishing Ties with Cuba, 1977
“Cuba ought to be free and independent, and the government should be turned over to the Cuban people.” That in…
The Palmer Case and the Changing Role of Women in the Foreign Service
There have been a number of prominent women who have served in the State Department over the past century: Francis…