The call by South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Khánh on July 19, 1964 to expand the Vietnam conflict led to…
A Personnel Tragedy
Charles William Thomas was a bright mid-career Foreign Service officer who was selected out because his efficiency report was mixed…
Douglas MacArthur, America’s Emperor of Japan
He was a general’s general, tough, unrelenting, a man who embraced the role history thrust on him. He was also…
Smashed Cars and Tall Blondes
For many diplomats, the time spent under constant surveillance while in Soviet bloc countries during the Cold War could lead…
Wives Gone Wild
Every Foreign Service Officer can have a difficult job of navigating cultural differences, memorizing customs and sticking to protocol while…
The Berlin Blockade and Airlift of 1948
Beginning in April 1948, the USSR blocked Western Allies’ access to Berlin as a means of protesting the introduction of…
Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe is one of the more controversial figures in Africa. He rose to prominence in the 1960s as the…
The Road to Madrid — James Baker and the Middle East Peace Talks
The Madrid Peace Conference, held from October 30 to November 1, 1991, marked the first time that Israeli leaders negotiated…
Kissinger and Lord in China: A How-To Guide for Secret Negotiations
At the height of the Cold War, with the death toll mounting in Vietnam and the split between the USSR…
A First-Class Spy Flap: CIA Agents Compromised in Ghana
Relations between the United States and Ghana were strained in the early 1980s. Its leader, the enigmatic former Flight Lieutenant…