The Madrid Peace Conference, held from October 30 to November 1, 1991, marked the first time that Israeli leaders negotiated…
“Do you know who I am?” – Diplomatic Immunity Gone Wrong
For the uninitiated, one of the apparent perks of being a diplomat is diplomatic immunity — You’ll never have to…
Loy Henderson, Mr. Foreign Service
Loy Henderson (1892-1986) is one of the most storied figures in American diplomatic history. Beginning his career in 1922, he…
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…
Frances Willis, The First Career Female Ambassador
Frances Willis was the first female to rise to the rank of Ambassador as a career Foreign Service Officer. After…
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…
Somalia — From Great Hope to Failed State
While today the mention of Somalia may conjure up images of a destitute nation run by warlords, such was not…
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…
Like Father, Like Son — Tyranny in Syria, A Massacre in Hama
As the civil war in Syria drags on with no end in sight, the humanitarian toll of the conflict becomes…
“Never get into an elevator with a Polish blonde” — More Honeypots
During the Cold War and beyond, Western diplomats had to constantly keep their wits about them when serving in the…