Thomas Boyatt was on his way to Cyprus to resume his post as political officer on August 29, 1969 when…
The Death of Ambassador Arnold Raphel
U.S. relations with Pakistan have often had a disproportionate importance. In the 1980’s, they were again front and center in…
Smashed Cars and Tall Blondes
For many diplomats, the time spent under constant surveillance while in Soviet bloc countries during the Cold War could lead…
The Road to Madrid — James Baker and the Middle East Peace Talks
The Madrid Peace Conference, held from October 30 to November 1, 1991, marked the first time that Israeli leaders negotiated…
Like Father, Like Son — Tyranny in Syria, A Massacre in Hama
As the civil war in Syria drags on with no end in sight, the humanitarian toll of the conflict becomes…
The Art of China Watching During the Great Leap Forward
From 1958 to 1961, following the anti-rightest crackdown of the Hundred Flowers Campaign, Mao Zedong and the Communist Party launched…
No Nukes for New Zealand — Breakdown of the ANZUS Treaty
In the mid 1980’s, U.S. bilateral relations with New Zealand, a long-time ally in a relatively peaceful corner of the…
Terror in the Sky — Hezbollah Seizes TWA Flight 847
The summer of 1985 was a particularly gruesome one for terrorist incidents. One of the more memorable was the hijacking…
Responding to the Threat of Mass Atrocities
Drawing on his experiences as U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Ambassador Princeton Lyman highlights the decision making trade-offs he…
The Iran-Contra Scandal
One of the biggest foreign policy scandals of the last half-century was the Iran-Contra affair, in which the Reagan Administration,…