Month: July 2024
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Menendez Convicted Unlike Trump
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Senator Menendez was convicted of bribery while serving as senator, unlike former President Trump who was not convicted of crimes related to his performance in office. Trump was convicted of some minor crimes by kangaroo courts in New York, but he has not been convicted of trying to overthrow the…
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Pat Derian and Human Rights
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Pat Derian gave me fits when Iwas working on the Brazil desk because Brazil had a bad reputation for its human rights performance. AFSA has publised its oral history of her time at the State Department. The AFSA history begins: Patricia “Patt” M. Derian was one of the key proponents…
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Venezuela Illustrates What the US Might Be Under Trump
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Madura’s refusal to accept defeat in Venezuela’s election illustrates what Trump might try to do if he lost another election, as Maduro did. Axios reported: Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro was announced as the winner in Sunday’s election, despite independent exit polls showing opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia had won more votes.…
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July 4, 1976
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On the evening of July 4, 1976, I was working in the Operations Center of the State Department. The fireworks were starting on the National Mall. Henry Kissinger was the Secretary of State. He was having a commemorative dinner on the eighth floor of the State Department in the diplomatic…
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100 Trying Years for the Foreign Service
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The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune reviewed Harry Kopp’s book,The Voice of the Foreign Service: A History of the American Foreign Service Association at 100, on the history of the Foreign Service, The review said: The origins of the State Department were inauspicious. Headed by Thomas Jefferson, it comprised a small diplomatic establishment that…