The Kurds have had a long and troubled history in Iraq. Under Saddam Hussein tens of thousands of Kurds were…
A House of Cards – The Collapse of Yugoslavia
Over a bloody three years, hundreds of thousands of former Yugoslav residents were dislocated, imprisoned, raped, tortured, starved, and massacred…
Baker’s Half Dozen — Six Precepts of Foreign Policy
A skilled diplomat and negotiator, James A. Baker III served as the Secretary of State during a period of tumultuous change, including…
Making the World a Safer Place — Nuclear Arsenals and the Fall of the USSR
Imagine what Europe would be like today if Belarusian strongman Aleksandr Lukashenka were able to threaten his neighbors with nuclear…
April Fool’s Day in the Foreign Service
The State Department is not exactly known for its jocularity but once in a while, it can have its fair…
The War in Bosnia and the Moral Dilemma of Refugees
The Bosnian War, which began April 5, 1992, was the result of the breakup of Yugoslavia. Pressure began to build…
The Ever-changing Nature of the American Foreign Service
The Foreign Service has undergone major reforms and tinkering over the past century, so much so that people often joked…
“Our government has evidenced moral bankruptcy”: The Blood Telegram and the 1971 Bengali Genocide
Pakistan after independence was a strange creation: the capital, Islamabad, and most of the power were located in the west…
Evacuating Somalia
Codename: Operation Eastern Exit. In January 1991, violence due to the Somali Civil War had escalated so much that Ambassador…
Today in History
Find articles about diplomatic events from each day of the year Here’s a handy calendar of events linked to Moments…