From 1936 to 1979, Nicaragua was under the grip of the Somoza family. Coming to power following the death of…
Books, Defectors, and Song — The Cuban Missile Crisis, as Seen from Moscow
The Soviet Union, in Churchill’s famous words, was a “riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma”; as such it made…
Jordan, 1970 – An Attack on the Embassy and a Dispute with the King
Jordan is one of the United States’ staunchest allies in the Middle East and has been one of the few…
Brazil’s Long Detour on the Road to Democracy
Brazil’s path to democracy was far from perfect and often tortuous. In 1961, a “possibly half insane” Janio Quadros was…
Targeted by Germany’s Red Army Faction
An offshoot of the radical Baader-Meinhof Group (named for its founders, Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Horst Mahler, and Ulrike Meinhof),…
The Irrepressible Prudence Bushnell
As a teenage daughter of a Foreign Service Officer who moved his family from country to country every so often,…
Benjamin Netanyahu: Israel’s Unapologetic Hawk
Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, long-time Prime Minister, is a controversial figure who has been one of the most influential figures in…
Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan 2004-2008: Development
Chronic instability, beginning before the Soviet invasion, helped destroy Afghanistan’s already underdeveloped economy. After 9/11, the United States dedicated billions of…
Poison as a Weapon in Putin’s Russia
Russia’s tumultuous history is replete with backstabbing — sometimes literal — where the powerful would seek their vengeance with a…
The Reign of the Snake – The Seedy Tenure of Togo’s President Eyadema
Extravagant dinners with Dom Pérignon and caviar, rampant corruption, political assassinations, a starving populace. Togo had been a small jewel…