Omar Bongo Ondimba of Gabon, one the longest-serving rulers in history, opened his newly-independent country’s political system to multiple party…
George Shultz: “Your Country is the United States”
George P. Shultz was Secretary of State for President Reagan from 1982 to 1989, the longest such tenure since Dean…
Trouble in Chiapas: The Zapatista Revolt
Economic development in Mexico has been uneven for generations, as some blamed the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)…
A Front Row Seat to the 1975 Coup d’Etat in Chad
Throughout the 1970s, trouble was brewing in Chad. President François (N’Garta) Tombalbaye was the first president of Chad following its…
Death of an AUB President and Father of a Future NBA Coach
He was a brilliant scholar who focused on the Middle East and whose books were widely read by Arabists. His…
Selwa Roosevelt: The Lucky Chief of Protocol
Selwa “Lucky” Roosevelt is best known for her role as Chief of Protocol of the United States from 1982 to…
Strobe Talbott — “We’re Menaced by the Zombie Behavior of Nations”
Strobe Talbott assumed the presidency of the Brookings Institution in July 2002 after a career in journalism, government and academia.…
“Austria is Free!” Post-War Vienna Escapes the Soviet Bloc
May 15th, 1955, was a momentous occasion for a war-battered Europe, and for the national history of Austria as the…
The Saur Revolution: Prelude to the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
The government of Afghan President Mohammed Daoud Khan came to a violent end in what was called the Saur Revolution…
Towering Infernos – The Kuwait Oil Fires
A 2010 Time Magazine article rated it as the third worst environmental catastrophe in history, right behind Chernobyl and Bhopal. As Operation…