Ariel Sharon, who died January 2014 after eight years in a coma, was not known for his calm and easygoing…
Evacuating Somalia
Codename: Operation Eastern Exit. In January 1991, violence due to the Somali Civil War had escalated so much that Ambassador…
Life at Embassy Tokyo After Pearl Harbor
Despite getting extremely close to agreeing to negotiations to avert hostilities, the U.S. and Japan failed to make peace and…
444 Days — The End Game
The 444-day-long Iran Hostage Crisis ranks as one of the most traumatic diplomatic events in U.S. history and even thirty…
444 Days: Memoirs of an Iran Hostage
More than thirty years later, the Iran Hostage crisis still ranks as one of the most traumatic diplomatic events in…
Stalin’s Legacy: The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Nagorno-Karabakh is a highly contested, landlocked region in the South Caucasus of the former Soviet Union. The present-day conflict has…
“We Didn’t Start the Fire”: Billy Joel Sums up World History with a Single Song
“We Didn’t Start the Fire” was a huge commercial success when it was released in 1989. It was Billy Joel’s…
The Suez Crisis — And A Different Side of Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser was one of the most influential modern-day leaders in the Middle East. As part of the Free…
A Secret Betrayal — Kurdish Refugees in Iran
Between 1961 and 1975, the relationship between the Kurds and the Iraqi government was especially tumultuous. In 1961, the First…
Guests of the Gestapo
Nazi Germany launched the Spring Offensive against France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in May 1940. Within six weeks it had…