For several years since the end of World War II, the U.S., UK and France had done what they could…
How a Former Secretary of State Won an Ancient Temple for Cambodia
Like many nations, Thailand and Cambodia share the colonial legacy of an ambiguous border which has led to violent conflict.…
Laying It Between the Lines: Music Diplomacy in Shanghai
“But if I really say it/ the radio won’t play it/ unless I lay it between the lines.” This song…
Ping Pong Diplomacy, April 1971 — Opening the Road to China
Following the Chinese Civil War and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China on the mainland, a “Bamboo Curtain,”…
Survivor of Two Concentration Camps, U.S. Ambassador to Three Countries
Robert Gerhard Neumann (1916–1999), seen at right with wife Marlen, served as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia.…
Georgia and The Rose Revolution
Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union in April 1991, and problems and instability arose almost immediately. The first President…
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 U-2 Spy Plane Incident
On May 1, 1960, an America U-2 spy plane was shot down in Soviet airspace, causing great embarrassment to the…
Sue McCourt Cobb: Ambassador and Summiteer of Mt. Everest
Climbing Mount Everest has long been the epitome of physical and mental endurance. Since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became…
That’s What Friends Are For
One of the great advantages of being in the Foreign Service is the opportunity to live abroad, learn new languages,…