On April 3rd, 1996, just before the Easter holiday, Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown was killed in a plane crash…
Bill Burns, A Consummate Diplomat
William Joseph Burns, known as Bill to his colleagues, stepped down as Deputy Secretary of State in October 2014 after…
The Collapse of Order in the Middle East
Will Rogers once observed that “when you get into trouble 5,000 miles from home, you’ve got to have been looking…
The Birth of NATO
After the devastation of World War II and the ensuing Cold War with the Soviet Union, nations across the globe…
Argentina’s Dirty War and the Transition to Democracy
It was one of the darkest periods in Latin American history. From 1976-1983, a brutal military junta ruled Argentina in…
Antarctica — Diplomats at the End of the World
Antarctica remains as mysterious as it is legendary. Studied throughout history for its geology, climate, and resources, Antarctica’s allure is…
The Unending Quest for Self-Determination in Western Sahara
The disputed region of Western Sahara in Northern Africa is the largest by both population and area on the United…
Leaving with Their Heads Held High – The U.S. Expulsion from Eritrea, 1977
Throughout its history, there have been numerous occasions where the United States has been forced to shut down its embassies…
The Achille Lauro Hijacking — “These sons of bitches must be prosecuted”
On October 7, 1985, four men, including mastermind Muhammad Zaidan, aka Mohammed Abul al-Abbas, from the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)…
Dealing with a Reunified Germany
With the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, the long-awaited reunification between East and West Germany began. A…