Beginning in the middle of the 1980s, relations between General Manuel Noriega, Panama’s de facto leader, and the United States…
Philip Habib — Cursed is the Peacemaker
Philip Habib (February 25, 1920 – May 25, 1992) was a career diplomat known for his work in Vietnam, South Korea and the Middle East.…
Dealing with Death as a Consular Officer
Marie Huhtala, who later became ambassador to Malaysia, had several assignments as a consular officer. In these excerpts, she talks…
The Jonestown Massacre
Jonestown, Guyana was the scene of one of the most harrowing tragedies in American history. On November 18, 1978, at…
Recalling the Attack on the U.S. Compound in Benghazi – from June 1967
The circumstances seem all too familiar — political turmoil leads to angry mobs storming the U.S. compound in Benghazi. Except…
The Iran Hostage Crisis– Part II
In these excerpts, Bruce Laingen, then Charge d’Affaires of U.S. Embassy Tehran and one of the “super Satans” kept hostage at the…
The Iran Hostage Crisis — Part I
November 4, 1979 – Radical Iranian students take over the U.S. embassy in Tehran and hold 52 Americans hostage. The…
Tie a Yellow Ribbon — The Iran Hostage Crisis as Seen from the Home Front
Penelope (Penne) Laingen is the wife of Bruce Laingen, who had served in Germany, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan before being…
“I’m still a dip kid”
Kathleen Turner was one of the iconic actresses of the 1980’s, starring in such movies as Romancing the Stone, Jewel…
Lessons Learned from a Former Hostage
In Captive in the Congo, Mike Hoyt describes his ordeal as one of 300 hostages taken by armed rebels. They…