“Cuba ought to be free and independent, and the government should be turned over to the Cuban people.” That in…
An Axe Murder Triggers a Standoff in Korea’s DMZ, 1976
The United States and North Korea have not had the best relations, to put it mildly. Even in a place…
Life Under Il Duce
Charismatic, admired, and feared, Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922, when he became the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history.…
“Military overreach cannot be offset by diplomatic incapacity”
2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, the devastating “war to end all wars.” While…
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…
John S. Service – The Man Who “Lost China,” Part I
During the 1950’s hundreds of government employees, entertainers, educators, and union activists were accused of being communists by Senator Joseph…
Life at Embassy Tokyo After Pearl Harbor
Despite getting extremely close to agreeing to negotiations to avert hostilities, the U.S. and Japan failed to make peace and…
Come Spy with Me: Cold War Espionage Against China
Intelligence services spend a great deal of time trying to recruit new assets, spies who have access to sensitive information…
Back in the USSR — Life as a Student in Moscow in the 1960s
Grim. Tedious. Unrelentingly cold and dreary. Add in KGB surveillance and the fear that they truly were out to get…
McCarthy’s Red Herring
With his infamous Wheeling, West Virginia speech on February 9, 1950, in which he declared he had a list of…