“It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.” –Senator…
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.…
“A Recipe for Endless War” – The Rise of the Taliban
After conquering Kabul in April 1996, the Taliban established the ultra-conservative Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, enforcing a radical interpretation of…
The Embassy Moscow Fire of 1977
Diplomats working in the USSR had to contend with a wide range of difficulties – poor bilateral relations, KGB surveillance,…
Kashmir and the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War
In the summer of 1965, India and Pakistan returned to the battlefields of Kashmir in a renewed attempt to establish…
Disney World: The Happiest Diplomatic Meeting Place on Earth
Despite its less-than-auspicious opening on July 17th, 1955 (unexpected massive crowds, insufficient water and melting pavement), Disneyland has occupied an…
Why We Stuck with Maliki — and Lost Iraq
To understand why Iraq is imploding, you must understand Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki — and why the United States has…
The 1974 Turkish Intervention in Cyprus
The “Cyprus problem” of ongoing conflict between the Greeks and Turks on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus came to a…