The Fourth of July is a celebration of the United States’ independence. It is a day of family, friends, food,…
Hungary Escapes the Shadow of the Soviet Union
For those trapped in Eastern Europe in the 20th century, the horrors of World War II were supplanted by the…
Escape from the Congo
During the Congo Crisis (1960-1966), which began after the colony was granted independence from Belgium, the province of Katanga declared…
“It was something out of a B movie” — The 1980 Coup in Bolivia
Social unrest, political fragmentation, drug trafficking, and violence all characterized the late 70’s in Bolivia. All of the major parties…
The Tiananmen Square Massacre — June 4, 1989
The 1989 massacre at Tiananmen Square was one of the most heart-wrenching displays of state suppression of peaceful assembly in…
The Year of Living Dangerously – Indonesia and the Downed CIA Pilot, May 1958
In April and May of 1958, Indonesia went through a period of rebellion, as discontent on the peripheral islands, like…
Apocalypse Not, Part II
On April 29, 1975, Francis Terry McNamara, then Consul General, finally received orders to evacuate the Consulate General in Can…
The Embassy Beirut Bombing — A Consular Officer’s Perspective
The suicide bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon on April 18, 1983 was the deadliest attack on a…
“Two Men, One Grave” — The Execution of Pakistan’s Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), served as president of Pakistan in the 1970s. By 1977, opposition…
McCarthy’s Red Herring
With his infamous Wheeling, West Virginia speech on February 9, 1950, in which he declared he had a list of…