The attack on the American embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979 and the subsequent 444-day imprisonment of American personnel…
The Velvet Revolution, November 1989
In 1989, change was in the air throughout all of Eastern Europe. Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost and perestroika –…
Diplomatic Amateurism and Its Consequences
The following are remarks given by Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. (USFS, Ret.), Senior Fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies,…
That’s What Friends Are For
One of the great advantages of being in the Foreign Service is the opportunity to live abroad, learn new languages,…
A Russo-American Diplomat: Back in the USSR
Vladimir Toumanoff, a Foreign Service officer for 25 years, had the extraordinary experience of returning as an American diplomat to…
The 1991 Madrid Peace Conference
The Madrid Peace Conference, held from October 30 to November 1, 1991, marked the first time that Israeli leaders negotiated…
So Many Soldiers, So Little Protection — The Pillaging of Iraqi Culture, 2003
As the cradle of civilization, Iraq has thousands of years of history and artifacts that provide a glimpse into the…
The “Lavender Scare”: Homosexuals at the State Department
In the 1950s and 60s, security within the U.S. government, including the State Department, was on high alert for internal…
Picking Up the Pieces After Black Hawk Down
The State Department dispatched Richard Bogosian to Somalia to repair political and diplomatic damage following an attempt to rescue crews…
Economics and Diplomacy
Back to Memoirs and Occasional Papers Economics and Diplomacy: A Life in the Foreign Service of the United States Deane…