On February 3rd, 1989 tanks rolled into Paraguay’s capital Asuncion, led by General Andres Rodriguez. Briefly bullets and bombs rattled…
“Our government has evidenced moral bankruptcy”: The Blood Telegram and the 1971 Bengali Genocide
Pakistan after independence was a strange creation: the capital, Islamabad, and most of the power were located in the west…
The U.S. De-recognizes Taiwan in Favor of Communist China — January 1, 1979
“The Government of the United States of America acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan…
Castro’s Cuba – The Early Days
On January 1, 1959, after a sustained armed revolt led by Fidel Castro and others took control over most of…
New Year’s Eve with the Roosevelts
For most of us, New Year’s Eve means watching the ball drop in Times Square on TV. For a lucky…
Ringing in Y2K — on Fiji
The Year 2000 Problem, more commonly referred to as Y2K, was a worldwide scare stemming from the belief that when…
The Lockerbie Bombing and Its Aftermath
On December 21, 1988, Pan American flight 103 flying from London Heathrow to JFK Airport in New York exploded over…
The Dramatic Hostage Crisis and Daring Rescue at the Japanese Embassy in Peru
It sounds like something out of a novel: a group of rebels, helped by an American, seize an embassy in…
John S. Service – The Man Who “Lost China,” Part II
John Service, the son of missionaries who grew up in China, was one of the Department’s “China hands,” an expert…
The Failed Attempt to Avert War with Japan, 1941
The attack by the Imperial Japanese Army against the Naval Base at Pearl Harbor catapulted the United States into World…