The Kurds have had a long and troubled history in Iraq. Under Saddam Hussein tens of thousands of Kurds were…
A House of Cards – The Collapse of Yugoslavia
Over a bloody three years, hundreds of thousands of Europeans were dislocated, imprisoned, raped, tortured, starved and massacred as an…
Nelson Mandela’s Road to the Presidency
May 9th, 1994 marked one of the most significant – and previously unimaginable – milestones in modern African history as…
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…
James A. Baker III — The Velvet Hammer
James A. Baker served as the Secretary of State during the Presidency of George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1992,…

April Fool’s Day in the Foreign Service
The State Department is not exactly known for its jocularity but once in a while, it can have its fair…
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…
“The U.S. values amateurism over professionalism in diplomacy”
Chas W. Freeman, Jr. is one of those rare diplomats with brilliant language abilities who also was involved in an…
From The Bookshelf: Other Publications
Below we have provided a list of books that may be of interest to our readers and researchers that are…
Incoming! Surviving SCUD Attacks in Dhahran
Ken Stammerman was economic counselor in Kuwait from 1986 to 1987 before becoming consul general in Dhahran in 1989. Home…