Following the Chinese Civil War and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China on the mainland, a “Bamboo Curtain,”…
NSFW FSOs, Part II
As in so many other professions, integrity is the hallmark of a good diplomat. In most cases. As Henry Wooton…
A Peace That Couldn’t Last – Negotiating the Paris Accords on Vietnam
Signed on January 27, 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were intended to finally end the Vietnam War, which had cost…
Warriors without Weapons – Recruiting FSOs to Rebuild Iraq
In the lead-up to the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, State Department officials realized they would need to deploy scores…
The 1991 Iraq War — The Battle at the UN
As an after-effect of the Iraq-Iran War which raged from 1980 to 1988, Baghdad found itself crippled by debts to…
“Drain Your Glass” — Alcoholism in the Foreign Service
Each and every job has a certain set of requirements and restrictions. Alcohol has played a large role in diplomacy,…
The Enigmatic Jackie Kennedy
Popular U.S. politicians and their wives often become celebrities to the public, both home and abroad. This can make state…
The Resignation of Richard M. Nixon
Richard M. Nixon’s presidency was a tempestuous mix of stunning foreign policy achievements (his trip to China) and shameful lapses…
Contempt with a Capital Tea
Oftentimes, high-level diplomatic exchanges are not characterized by the usual diplomatic niceties. Take, for example, a memorable meeting between Indian Foreign Minister…
Sound and the Fury — The 1954 Geneva Conference on Vietnam and Korea
In April 1954, amidst growing tensions regarding the situation in the Korean Peninsula and Indochina, the international community convened a…