When Thomas Pickering was Ambassador to Nigeria in 1980-83, he witnessed the stirrings of Islamic militancy and other transformations of…
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…
Embassies: “An Artifact of an Earlier Age?”
Do embassies still matter? Donna Oglesby, a senior official at the United States Information Agency (before it was incorporated into…
Hurricane Mitch Devastated Nicaragua, But Helped Improve Relations With the U.S.
Slow-moving, coast-hugging Hurricane Mitch devastated Nicaragua in October 1998. The United States organized a massive disaster response, and President Clinton…
Witness to the Arab Spring in Tunisia
In December 2010, Tunisian fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi proved that it can take just a single moment to spark a…
In Their Own Voices
In Their Own Voices, previously known as Poor Richard’s Podcasts, takes different moments in diplomatic history and brings them to…
Frank Carlucci: Helping Block the Communists in Portugal
After decades of right-wing dictatorship, Portugal faced a threat of a takeover by communists in the mid-1970s. Ambassador Frank Carlucci,…
Tracking the Politics of Burma (Myanmar) After the Flawed 1990 Elections
While democratic elections were held in Burma (Myanmar) by the military-led government in 1990, the elected parliament was never allowed…
Combatting Corruption in Egypt During the Arab Spring: USAID’s Role
The eighteen-day revolution to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 brought a wave of democracy to Egypt—one that was widely…
An Espionage Caper in Ghana; Helping Americans Escape Rwanda — Scenes From a Diplomatic Life
Arlene Render’s career took her from a segregated neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio, to three ambassadorships and a lifetime of diplomatic…