From 1971-1979, Uganda was under the control of the mercurial Idi Amin, one of the most brutal military dictators ever…
Dark Times in the City of Light
Paris is one of the most beautiful and glamorous places in the world. But like most urban centers, it also…
The Afghan Invasion as Seen from U.S. Embassy Moscow
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was, among other things, a horrible political miscalculation, lasting nine bloody years and resulting in the…
The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan — December 1979
It was to last nearly a decade and would plant the seeds for the rise of the Taliban and Islamic…
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 in Ceausescu’s Romania
Romania in the 1970s was a study in contrasts. Traditionally a rich agricultural breadbasket, its backward economy could not provide…
The Iran Hostage Crisis — “I had very little faith in my government protecting me”
On November 4, 1979, some 3000 radical Iranian students protested at the U.S. embassy. The embassy had been taken over…
Leaving with Their Heads Held High – The U.S. Expulsion from Eritrea, 1977
Throughout its history, there have been numerous occasions where the United States has been forced to shut down its embassies…
Yeltsin Under Siege — The October 1993 Constitutional Crisis
For Russians, it was yet another dramatic confrontation which played out in the streets of Moscow, one which marked the…
“Vive Le Québec Libre!” — When Canada’s Separatist Movement Turned Violent
Scotland, Catalonia, Northern Ireland, Quebec –Western regions with distinct histories and linguistic identities, which have at times also experienced violent…