Signed on January 27, 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were intended to finally end the Vietnam War, which had cost…
Brunei: The Richest Little Country You’ve Never Heard Of
Brunei, situated on the northern shore of the island of Borneo in the South China Sea, is one of the…
Julia Chang Bloch’s Whole-of-Mission Approach in Nepal
In 1990, Nepal’s centuries-long history of monarchical rule and more recent autocratic substitutes were finally brought to an end in…
Negotiating the UNFCCC – Moving to the Endgame
In Part III, Robert Reinstein, the United States’ top negotiator at the United Nations, and Stephanie Kinney, one of the State…
Officially Unofficial – The Opening of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)
On the first day of January 1979, the United States de-recognized the Republic of China (also known as Taiwan or…
Warriors without Weapons – Recruiting FSOs to Rebuild Iraq
In the lead-up to the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, State Department officials realized they would need to deploy scores…
Pierre Trudeau: One Long Curve, Full of Turning Points
With the October 2015 election of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada, we take a look back at his father, Pierre…
Admiral William Leahy, Ambassador to Vichy
When Admiral William Leahy retired as Chief of Naval Operations in August 1939, President Roosevelt personally awarded him the…
1989 — A Swift Look at an Incredible Year
1989 — A year filled with magic, madness, heaven and sin. Among the defining years of the 20th century, 1989…
The 1991 Iraq War — The Battle at the UN
As an after-effect of the Iraq-Iran War which raged from 1980 to 1988, Baghdad found itself crippled by debts to…