In the wake of the U.S.-led Coalition Forces invasion of Iraq in March, 2003 and dissolution of the Ba’ath Party,…
Combining Forces to Counter Terrorism — The Birth of S/CT
U.S. inter-agency coordination on countering terrorism was limited, for bureaucratic and technical reasons, prior to the mid-1980s. As hijackings and…
The King and I and The Missionary’s Wife
The Foreign Service has attracted some very talented people over the years and many of those are the spouses of…
Stop the MADness — Arms Control and Disarmament
The end of World War II ushered in an era of intense arms competition between the Soviet Union and the…
De-Baathification and Dismantling the Iraqi Army
The 2003 American invasion of Iraq, which came not long after the invasion of Afghanistan, proved to be highly controversial,…
Billion-Dollar “Plan Colombia” to End Decades of Civil War
Published January 2016 A guerrilla organization known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias…
Pain at the Pumps: The 1973 Oil Embargo and Its Effect on U.S. Foreign Policy
It may be a challenge for those who did not experience it to imagine a time when the supply of gas…
Leveling the Playing Field in the Salvadoran Civil War
The Salvadoran Civil War, lasting from 1979-1992, pitted the military-led government of El Salvador against a coalition of five left-wing guerrilla…
NSFW FSOs, Part II
As in so many other professions, integrity is the hallmark of a good diplomat. In most cases. As Henry Wooton…
North Korea Blows up South Korean Airliner
Someone once described the dissolution of the USSR as a typical Soviet divorce — you’re no longer married but you’re…