The Tiananmen Square Massacre of June 1989, and the subsequent months of intimidation, deception and violence, shattered the façade of…
Baker’s Half Dozen — Six Precepts of Foreign Policy
A skilled diplomat and negotiator, James A. Baker III served as the Secretary of State during a period of tumultuous change, including…
A Brief History of the Consular Service
When most people think about consular matters, if they think about them at all, it’s only because they are having…
Making the World a Safer Place — Nuclear Arsenals and the Fall of the USSR
Imagine what Europe would be like today if Belarusian strongman Aleksandr Lukashenka were able to threaten his neighbors with nuclear…
The Rwandan Genocide — The View from Ground Zero
Two decades of ethnic tension and a civil war in 1990 laid the groundwork for one of the most savage…
Guns and Ganja: Marijuana Usage in the Foreign Service
Like many countries, the U.S. has recently grappled with the issue of how to deal with marijuana usage: Should it…
“If Putin gets away with Crimea, eastern Ukraine will be next”
The following was written by Victor H. Ashe, Ambassador to Poland under the Bush Administration. He argues that President Obama’s past actions…
A Unified Diplomatic Service for the 21st Century, Part III
The unusually strong response to Stephanie Kinney’s piece on the lack of core values within the Foreign Service — by far…
When Ambassadors Were Rock Stars
It is difficult in this day and age to imagine any ambassador being on the cover of a major magazine…
Inside Foggy Bottom
Foggy Bottom, so called because its location alongside the Potomac made it susceptible to dense concentrations of fog and industrial smoke, refers not only…