It was the end of a long, hard road. Although the Vietnam War had finally officially concluded, the Fall of…
An American in a Japanese “Triple Disaster”
There was no warning. The shaking that soon rocked mainland Japan on March 11, 2011 would tear down buildings and…
Experiencing the Lebanese Civil War as the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon—Robert S. Dillon
“I traveled in a long convoy, with armed body-guards. Much of the concern for our safety stemmed from the assassination…
The Peace After Chaos—Genocide in Burundi
Welcome to Burundi For former United States Ambassador to Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe, Joseph C. Wilson IV, the…
Terrorism: Domestic and International—9/11 In Tanzania
September 11 fundamentally transformed United States foreign policy and shook the country as a whole. This transformation and shock was…
Black and White: A Battle Between Segregation and Independence in Southern Rhodesia
During the Scramble for Africa (a period lasting from 1881 to 1914 that brought colonization of most of Africa by…
The Audio-Visual Program in Madras
The U.S. State Department is renowned for its diplomacy and foreign policy. However, it is recognized less for its educational…
Vladimir Putin’s “Icy Cold Glare”
After George W. Bush’s 2006 meeting on the tarmac with Vladimir Putin, he famously declared “I looked the man in…
Environmental Issues: Tackling Air Pollution in Beijing
In addition to implementing U.S. foreign policy and expanding diplomatic relations, the State Department plays another very important role as…
The First Diplomatic Visit in Forty Years to the “Land of the Eternal Blue Sky”—Donald C. Johnson’s 1984 Visit to Mongolia
Mongolia—sparsely populated, largely nomadic, and surrounded by nuclear superpowers. The end of the Cold War could not have been the…