Managing personal security is an important part of a Foreign Service Officer’s training. Weapons of mass destruction, sexual assault, cyberattacks,…
The Emperor’s New Year’s Day Party
With brightly colored clothes and impeccable attention to protocol, Foreign Service spouse Hilda Lewis hoped to impress at the Japanese…
The Felix Bloch Affair: An Unsolved Case of Cold War Espionage
In 1989, French counterintelligence agents watched Felix Bloch as he dined in Paris with known Soviet spy “Pierre Bart.” Bloch…
Rough Landing: Controlled Aircraft Crash in Honduras
Towards the end of his posting in Honduras, Ambassador Frank Almaguer received multiple requests from other countries’ ambassadors for transportation…
A Georgian Spring Amidst Autumn: The Rose Revolution from a U.S. Perspective
Revolutions are always exciting times for U.S. Foreign Service personnel, and the November 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia was no…
Not so Sudan-ly—Six Years for Independence
Allan Reed’s extraordinary relationship with Sudan can be traced all the way back to the late 1960s, when he joined…
How Soviet Astronauts Met Stars in America
Two Soviet astronauts—a general and a scientist—come to visit the United States. They ride roller coasters at Disneyland, donkeys at…
“I am a Plant:” An Apparent Iraqi Spy Among U.S. Diplomats
Would you be willing to hire a potential foreign intelligence agent if it meant direct access to an antagonistic, elusive…
Pakistan, Population, and Development in the Early 1960s
You might never guess that the work of a USAID Program Economist could result in a trip to the Vatican…
Lessons Learned: USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and the 1985 Mexico City Earthquake
USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) is perhaps the world’s premier international disaster assistance agency. It was not always…