A council of combined security forces known as the Derg staged a coup d’état on September 12, 1974 against Ethiopian…
Cannabis and Cabbages: Serving at the Last Stop of the Hippie Trail
In the late sixties – early seventies, the “Hippie Trail” started in Europe, crossed over to Istanbul, ventured into Iran…
Paying Calls in Shangri-La
Back to Diplomats and Diplomacy Paying Calls in Shangri-La: Scenes from a Woman’s Life in American Diplomacy “This is a…
Brexit — Now What?
The decision by referendum of the British electorate to depart the European Union — after a campaign in which facts…
Get While the Getting’s Good: Departing Communist China
The decision to close an embassy and order departure of diplomatic personnel is a signal of last resort that bilateral…
The Charismatic Dalai Lama
Born into a humble farming family on July 6, 1935, Lhamo Dhondup (Tenzin Gyatso), had subtle beginnings before he became…
Igniting Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait – Loans, Land, Oil and Access
Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990 largely for economic reasons, but the contiguous Gulf countries had long-standing territorial conflicts…
The Rise to Power of the Butcher of Uganda
Idi Amin Dada, who came to be known as the “Butcher of Uganda,” rose to officer rank in the Ugandan…
China’s Fight for Tiny Islands — The Taiwan Straits Crises, 1954-58
Recent disagreements over Beijing’s claim to the South China Seas (in which a tribunal constituted under the UN Convention on the…
Agent Orange and the Vietnam War
In 1961, United States forces in Vietnam began to use chemical herbicides and defoliants on South Vietnamese crops, bushes, and…