The design of U.S. embassies has swung through varying phases over the past several decades. Some embassies, such as the…
The Grisly Tradition of Beheading
The act of beheading has been used as a means for execution and retribution for millennia. The guillotine, which was…
Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan 2004–2008
Back to Memoirs and Occasional Papers Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan 2004–2008: A Civilian Perspective After the 2001 ouster of the…
“The Worst Day” — 9/11 and the International Response
“It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.” –Senator…
Life as a POW in the Japanese-Occupied Philippines
Ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces successfully invaded the Philippines. Those Americans and Filipinos who did not…
Turning the Tables: An Interview with Stu Kennedy
In this interview with the Foreign Service Journal, Charles Stuart Kennedy talks about his Foreign Service career and pioneering work creating American…
From Nation-Building to Black Hawk Down: U.S. Peacekeeping in Somalia
Somalia has become synonymous with well-meaning but ill-fated humanitarian intervention. Live television footage of American soldiers being dragged in the…
The Fight to Ratify the Panama Canal Treaty
Since Panama’s independence from Colombia in 1903, the Panama Canal had been a dramatic and ongoing point of discussion. The…
The Beijing Conference on Women
“If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights…
Life Under Il Duce
Charismatic, admired, and feared, Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922, when he became the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history.…