How do you reconcile the goals of the U.S. military, USAID development workers and State Department diplomats in the midst…
A USAID Officer Recalls Vietnam’s Tet Offensive
It wasn’t just soldiers. USAID officer George Laudato was at his home in Mỹ Tho in 1968 when mortars started…
Migrating with Iran’s Bakhtiari Tribe Before the Revolution: A Tale From the Foreign Service
Back when the United States had diplomatic missions in Iran, a young Foreign Service Officer travelled with members of the…
Folk Songs in Georgetown With JFK: A Memory from a Different Era
Nicholas Platt was a distinguished American diplomat, who served as ambassador to Zambia, the Philippines, and Pakistan. In the first…
Sheila Platt: A Diplomatic Life Bridging Both Sides of China’s Divide
Few Americans have met personally with the leadership of both Mao Zedong’s China and Chiang Kai-shek’s Taiwan. Sheila Platt, and…
Removing Corpses from the U.S. Embassy: Behind the Scenes of Operation Restore Hope in Somalia
After the fall of Somalia’s dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, a civil war broke out between warlords. In the…
The State Department’s Air Wing and Counternarcotics Programs in South America
In the early 1990s, at the height of the “War on Drugs,” David Lyon took a break from consular work…
A “Very Japanese” Arrangement to Dismantle a Soviet MIG-25
On September 6, 1976 a MIG-25 (foxbat), the most advanced Soviet fighter jet at the time, landed at Hokadote Airport…
John D. Negroponte: A Diplomatic Life of Controversy and Consequence
John D. Negroponte joined the Foreign Service in 1960 and went on to serve as ambassador to Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines…
The Diplomacy of Tragedy: Burmese Airways Crash Kills 14 Americans in 1987
In the early morning hours of October 11, 1987, a Burmese turboprop plane transporting 49 passengers, including 36 foreign nationals…