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…
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…
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…
A Giant of the Kennedy Era: John Kenneth Galbraith
With his impressive intellect, polarizing personality, close ties to the Kennedy White House and imposing stature, Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith…
Trouble in the Mountains: The Sino-Indian War, 1962
When two powerful countries cannot agree on the location of their shared borders, there is trouble. Such was the case…
Economics and Diplomacy
Back to Memoirs and Occasional Papers Economics and Diplomacy: A Life in the Foreign Service of the United States Deane…
Congo in Crisis: The Rise and Fall of Katangan Secession
When the Republic of the Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) became independent from Belgium in June 1960,…