Rafael Trujillo, El Jefe, ruled the Dominican Republic as dictator from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. Trujillo gained prominence…
The Attack on the U.S. Compound in Benghazi — September 11, 2012
The attack began the night of September 11, 2012, at a compound that is meant to protect the consulate building in Benghazi,…
Independence and “Catastrophe”: The Deadly Founding of Israel, May 14, 1948
On May 15, 1948, the UK withdrew from Palestine. (It had been given a mandate over the territories after it defeated the Ottomans…
Dealing with a PR Disaster – The U.S. Bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade
On May 7, 1999, U.S. warplanes accidentally dropped laser-guided bombs on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during NATO’s intervention in…
The Day Venezuelans Attacked Nixon
In the spring of 1958, President Eisenhower sent Vice President Nixon on a tour of Latin America to improve relations.…
Apocalypse Not, Part II
On April 29, 1975, Francis Terry McNamara, then Consul General, finally received orders to evacuate the Consulate General in Can…
Apocalypse Not – The Evacuation from Can Tho, Vietnam — April 1975
The shaky peace that had held in Vietnam since the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in 1973 began to…
The Fall of Saigon — April 30, 1975
April 30, 1975 will long be remembered as the day that Saigon fell and with it, the end of U.S.…
The Fall of South Korean Strongman Syngman Rhee — April 26,1960
Syngman Rhee, a staunch anticommunist and authoritarian, was the first president of South Korea. Backed by the United States, Rhee…
“The U.S. values amateurism over professionalism in diplomacy”
Chas W. Freeman, Jr. is one of those rare diplomats with brilliant language abilities who also was involved in an…