Ken Stammerman was economic counselor in Kuwait from 1986 to 1987 before becoming consul general in Dhahran in 1989. Home…
A Real Life “Thunderball”: The Day the U.S. Lost Hydrogen Bombs in Spain
The March 2009 edition of Time magazine called it one of the world’s “worst nuclear disasters.” On January 17, 1966, a B-52…
Desert Storm: “The War Never Really Ended” — Part II
Chas Freeman was U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm and consulted frequently with General Norman Schwarzkopf and others…
Desert Storm “The War Never Really Ended” — Part I
It was the first major foreign policy crisis for the U.S. since the end of the Cold War. Iraq, which…
Hard Rock Hotel Panama: Noriega and the U.S. Invasion, Part II
The U.S. and SOUTHCOM had spent considerable time and effort planning for the invasion and had mapped out several places…
Hard Rock Hotel Panama — Noriega and the U.S. Invasion, Part I
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…