Throughout its history, there have been numerous occasions where the United States has been forced to shut down its embassies…
The Middle East Cauldron
Edward “Skip” Gnehm served as Ambassador to Kuwait shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, from 1991 to 1994, and…
Ambassador Skip Gnehm on the Middle East
The Middle East has been a complicated, if not violent, region for millennia, which has only been exacerbated by recent…
“The State Department has always been a whipping boy”
Charles “Chip” Bohlen (August 30, 1904 – January 1, 1974) served in the Foreign Service from 1929 to 1969 and…
“Military overreach cannot be offset by diplomatic incapacity”
2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, the devastating “war to end all wars.” While…
Visa Fraud and GI Brides Before South Korea’s Economic Boom
As long as there are vast economic disparities between countries, there will be people desperate (and unscrupulous) enough to do…
Pot Shards
Back to Diplomats and Diplomacy Pot Shards: Fragments of a Life Lived in CIA, the White House, and the Two Koreas…
Jean Bédel Bokassa: The Man who Would be Emperor
Jean Bédel Bokassa ruled as President-for-life and later as Emperor of the Central African Republic from 1966 to 1979. In…
How to Handle a Crisis – Ambassador Edition
As part of its Ambassadorial Seminar, the Foreign Service Institute gives each of the participants a copy of “This Worked…
The Strange Case of Ngo Dinh Can
It sounds like a scene out of a movie: a corrupt dictator attempts to flee the country with the help…