The fall of the Soviet Union upset long-established power dynamics, leaving East and Central Europe, in particular, in uncharted waters.…
You Know a Coup is Coming but No One will Listen: Sudan 1964
Sudan’s long history has been riddled with internal conflict. The United Kingdom and Egypt controlled Sudan for the first half…
Intelligence, Research, God and Country: a Tour in INR
Teresita Schaffer enjoyed an illustrious 30-year career in the Foreign Service, developing a reputation as a leading expert on South…
A Day of Mixed Messages over Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait
In 1991, the U.S. led a coalition of over 30 nations to force Iraqi troops out of Kuwait after Saddam…
New President, Bad Plan: the Bay of Pigs Fiasco
After Fidel Castro ousted Cuban strongman Fulgencio Batista, expropriated American economic assets and developed links with the Soviet Union, President Eisenhower authorized the…
The U.S. Incursion into Cambodia
When President Richard Nixon took office in 1969, he and National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger vowed to find a way…
Harold Saunders: The Original “Peace Processor”
Born in Philadelphia, Harold “Hal” Saunders graduated from Princeton and Yale before serving in the U.S. Air Force. After working…
Drogas y Derechos Humanos: Changing U.S. Policy towards Guatemala
In June 1954 the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, concerned about the threat of communism in Guatemala, assisted in the overthrow…
Bombing North Vietnam into Accepting Our Concessions: Christmas Bombings, 1972
President Richard Nixon ordered plans for retaliatory bombings of North Vietnam after talks to end the war in Vietnam broke…
Regarding Henry, Protecting Nancy – On Security Detail with the Kissingers
Traditionally, Secretaries of State receive a personal protection detail from the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). However, Henry Kissinger…