Foreign Service Officers are posted to positions abroad for terms of one, two, or three years depending on locality, demand,…
Peace Corps to Ambassador: David Greenlee and Bolivia
It’s very common for Peace Corps volunteers to feel disheartened, as David Greenlee did as a Peace Corps volunteer in…
Reiterating Strong Support for the Democratic Process
The ADST team joins many others in the foreign affairs community in condemning recent attacks on our democracy and welcoming…
Fighting Where the “Wango-Wango Bird Couldn’t Get”—U.S. Diplomats and the Ecuador-Peru Boundary Dispute
In 1895, the United States intervened in a long-standing border dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela, forcing its resolution—and forcing…
Backchannels at Home: The Relationship Between Congress and the Foreign Service
In 1979 Congress did something both bold and unusual. That year, President Carter was attempting to build a stronger relationship…
An Unpopular Opinion: Tex Harris and the Yacyretá Dam Project in Argentina
To directly defy orders from one’s superiors undoubtedly takes nerve and, above all, conviction and belief in doing the right…
Dealing with a Leftist Dipsomaniac: The United States and Ecuador’s Carlos Arosemena
At the beginning of the 1960s, U.S. foreign policy had two bugbears: the Soviet Union and Cuba. Fidel Castro had…
“The Times They Are a-Changin”—Working in the Context of Social Revolution
While U.S. State Department employees regularly serve in the midst of pivotal international agreements and turmoil, the events going on…
Rough Landing: Controlled Aircraft Crash in Honduras
Towards the end of his posting in Honduras, Ambassador Frank Almaguer received multiple requests from other countries’ ambassadors for transportation…
Looking at the War in the Falklands/Malvinas from Both Sides Now
In 1982 a long-simmering dispute between the United Kingdom and Argentina over a small group of islands – the Falklands…