In December 2001, as per the Bonn Agreement signed in reaction to the September 11 attacks, the North Atlantic Treaty…
Cosa Nostra: U.S. Diplomacy and the Italian Mafia, 1954-1992
The Mafia in American culture is a source of inspiration for books, movies, and television. The Godfather, The Sopranos, a…
Celebrating the Leadership of America’s Ambassadors of African Descent
Ask any five people on an American college campus or maybe even on the streets of any major city, to…
Johnny Young – From Abject Poverty to Chief of Mission
Johnny Young, who served in the Foreign Service from 1967 to 2005, was born into abject poverty in the Deep…
Too Fast and Furious — Adult Supervision for the USS Cole Investigation
Relations were tense in Yemen between the United States and Yemen after the attack of the Naval vessel U.S.S Cole…
Suicide Bombers and the Rapper M.I.A. — The Sad Legacy of the Sri Lankan Civil War
Artistic inspiration, such as it is, can come from the most unexpected of places. Case in point, Grammy-nominated one-hit wonder…
A Dream Deferred
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a…
The Queen of Thailand Deep in the Heart of Texas
There are many hallmarks of a good diplomat — the ability to understand foreign cultures, communications skills, flexibility, the ability…
Returning the Crown of Saint Stephen to post-Cold War Hungary
For centuries, it was the national symbol of a nation. For decades, it was kept in Fort Knox for safekeeping.…
The Palmer Case and the Changing Role of Women in the Foreign Service
There have been a number of prominent women who have served in the State Department over the past century: Francis…