Speaking a foreign language is critical in the Foreign Service and can sometimes rescue you from the diciest situations. Case…
Pain at the Pumps: The 1973 Oil Embargo and Its Effect on U.S. Foreign Policy
It may be a challenge for those who did not experience it to imagine a time when the supply of gas…
North Korea Blows up South Korean Airliner
Someone once described the dissolution of the USSR as a typical Soviet divorce — you’re no longer married but you’re…
Julia Chang Bloch’s Whole-of-Mission Approach in Nepal
In 1990, Nepal’s centuries-long history of monarchical rule and more recent autocratic substitutes were finally brought to an end in…
Negotiating the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
One of the most critical problems facing the world today is the issue of climate change. Scientists have predicted that…
Officially Unofficial – The Opening of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)
On the first day of January 1979, the United States de-recognized the Republic of China (also known as Taiwan or…
Admiral William Leahy, Ambassador to Vichy
When Admiral William Leahy retired as Chief of Naval Operations in August 1939, President Roosevelt personally awarded him the…
The 1991 Iraq War — A Messy End
An international coalition launched Operation Desert Storm, authorized by UN Resolution 678, on January 17, 1991, to force Saddam Hussein’s army out…
Drug-Sniffing Mongooses and Other Tales of the Sri Lankan Civil War
In July 1983, tensions increased between Tamil minority separatists and the Sinhalese majority in Sri Lanka, erupting into civil war.…
Opening an Embassy in the Land of Genghis Khan
Getting a new embassy up and running is a tremendous task, especially when the host city has an annual average…