Iraqi Kurds are scheduled to hold a referendum on independence in September, 2017. The Kurdistan region of about five million…
When One of “The Murrow Boys” Became a Foreign Service Wife
Mary Marvin Breckinridge Patterson was the only female member of the original generation of CBS Radio war correspondents known as…
Ireland and the U.S.: The Best of Friends, Except When They Weren’t
Relations between the U.S. and Ireland have traditionally been strong, thanks to common ancestral ties, history and shared values. Irish…
Between Iraq and a Hard Place: Declared Persona Non Grata by Saddam
Iraq expelled an American diplomat stationed in Baghdad on November 17, 1988 for having contacts with Iraq’s Kurdish minority. Haywood…
The Thai-tanic: Responding to the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997
Asian countries took a financial hit in 1997, resulting in a crisis that reverberated throughout the world. It began on…
An Embassy in Flames: Islamabad, 1979
The November 21, 1979 attack on the American Embassy in Islamabad started as a small group demonstration in front of…
Anatomy of an Overthrow: How an African Leader was Toppled
A council of combined security forces known as the Derg staged a coup d’état on September 12, 1974 against Ethiopian…
The Charismatic Dalai Lama
Born into a humble farming family on July 6, 1935, Lhamo Dhondup (Tenzin Gyatso), had subtle beginnings before he became…
“A Box Sealed for 70 years” — Opening U.S. Embassy Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
A mountainous country in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan was ceded by China and formally incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1876.…
What Have I Gotten Myself Into? Tales from Rough First Tours
Life in the Foreign Service certainly has its advantages – working in often exotic locales, meeting fascinating people, being a…