After 9/11, the United States recognized the instability within made Afghanistan a sanctuary and breeding ground for terrorism — evident…
Returning the Crown of Saint Stephen to post-Cold War Hungary
For centuries, it was the national symbol of a nation. For decades, it was kept in Fort Knox for safekeeping.…
The Birth of NATO
After the devastation of World War II and the ensuing Cold War with the Soviet Union, nations across the globe…
The Iran Hostage Crisis — “I had very little faith in my government protecting me”
On November 4, 1979, some 3000 radical Iranian students protested at the U.S. embassy. The embassy had been taken over…
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…
The Birthday Party Coup Attempt on Morocco’s King Hassan II
The Arab world’s longest-ruling monarch at the time of his death, King Hassan II survived several coup attempts during his…
The Iraqi Revolution — of 1958
In 1958, the 14 July Revolution ended the thirty-seven-year Hashemite monarchy of Iraq in a coup d’état and established the…
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…
8 Weird Things You Didn’t Know About American Diplomats
OK, when you think about State Department types — if you think about them at all — chances are they’re…
The Ever-changing Nature of the American Foreign Service
The Foreign Service has undergone major reforms and tinkering over the past century, so much so that people often joked…