In one of the smallest proxies of the Cold War, the United States, with the support of troops from other…
Leaving with Their Heads Held High – The U.S. Expulsion from Eritrea, 1977
Throughout its history, there have been numerous occasions where the United States has been forced to shut down its embassies…
Clifton Wharton — Diplomat and Pioneer
Clifton Reginald Wharton, Sr. was the first African-American Foreign Service Officer to rise to the rank of ambassador without a…
Yeltsin Under Siege — The October 1993 Constitutional Crisis
For Russians, it was yet another dramatic confrontation which played out in the streets of Moscow, one which marked the…
Memoirs of an Agent for Change in International Development
Back to Memoirs and Occasional Papers Lu Rudel describes his unique experiences with U.S. economic aid programs during some of…
“Vive Le Québec Libre!” — When Canada’s Separatist Movement Turned Violent
Scotland, Catalonia, Northern Ireland, Quebec –Western regions with distinct histories and linguistic identities, which have at times also experienced violent…
The Middle East Cauldron
Edward “Skip” Gnehm served as Ambassador to Kuwait shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, from 1991 to 1994, and…
The Achille Lauro Hijacking — “These sons of bitches must be prosecuted”
On October 7, 1985, four men, including mastermind Muhammad Zaidan, aka Mohammed Abul al-Abbas, from the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)…
Dealing with a Reunified Germany
With the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, the long-awaited reunification between East and West Germany began. A…
Negotiating the Montreal Protocol on Protecting the Ozone Layer
As global concerns grow over the effect of climate change and the devastating effects it already is beginning to have…