It was the wife of the U.S. Ambassador to Greece, John Peurifoy (seen right), who gave him the sobriquet “Pistol…
Politics, Pinatubo and the Pentagon: The Closure of Subic Bay
The closure of Naval Base Subic Bay, the U.S. Navy’s massive ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility in the…
George Shultz: “Your Country is the United States”
George P. Shultz was Secretary of State for President Reagan from 1982 to 1989, the longest such tenure since Dean…
How a Former Secretary of State Won an Ancient Temple for Cambodia
Like many nations, Thailand and Cambodia share the colonial legacy of an ambiguous border which has led to violent conflict.…
Trust In Me
Living abroad often comes with an array of challenges and frightening encounters. In the 1930s before joining the Foreign Service,…
The King and I and The Missionary’s Wife
The Foreign Service has attracted some very talented people over the years and many of those are the spouses of…
The Canadian Caper, Argo, and Escape from Iran
The years leading up to the autumn of 1979 in Iran proved to be turbulent, resulting in a radical transformation…
“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,…
Rolling Thunder: Behind the Fog of War
The call by South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Khánh on July 19, 1964 to expand the Vietnam conflict led to…
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…