Somalia has become synonymous with well-meaning but ill-fated humanitarian intervention. Live television footage of American soldiers being dragged in the…
“It wasn’t supposed to happen here” — 9/11, Before and After
September 11, 2001 left an indelible mark on American history when nineteen members of al Qaeda carried out the deadliest…
PTSD in the Foreign Service — The Embassy Beirut Bombing
In an unprecedented suicide attack on Americans, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut was bombed on April 18, 1983. The tragedy…
USS Vincennes Shoots Down Iran Air Flight 655
The Iran-Iraq War created turmoil in the Persian Gulf as the combatants attacked civilian oil tankers, merchant ships, and other…
The Fog of War – Investigating a U.S. Airstrike on an Afghan Wedding Party
On July 1, 2002, a U.S. airstrike in the town of Deh Rawood, Afghanistan killed dozens of civilians at a…
8 Weird Things You Didn’t Know About American Diplomats
OK, when you think about State Department types — if you think about them at all — chances are they’re…
Inside Foggy Bottom
Foggy Bottom, so called because its location alongside the Potomac made it susceptible to dense concentrations of fog and industrial smoke, refers not only…
Transnistria — Moldovan Land Under Russian Control
The Transnistria region in Moldova is a Cold War relic. Along with Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenian-controlled Azerbaijan and South Ossetia in Georgia, it is…
Today in History
Find articles about diplomatic events from each day of the year Here’s a handy calendar of events linked to Moments…
An Iran-Contra War Story with Oliver North
Oliver North is a former United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel who served as a National Security Council staff member during the Iran–Contra affair, a political scandal involving…