American Diplomat

They left to join the recruiter-imams' war. Now they're back home in Kosovo. How to make these young men peace-loving Kosovars once more? Greg Delawie explains.

Jim Dobbins, National Security Advisor to Bill Clinton, riffs on what it's like to work for Bill under the cloud of impeachment more than 20 years ago.

Mike Polt, who previously shared his experience in Serbia, shares a contrasting tale of successful adaptation to new circumstances in Estonia. What can we learn from these two tales?

Michael Polt shares his perspective on the honored tradition of the State Department dissent channel, and discusses his experience in the former Yugoslavia when he arrived as Ambassador to Serbia in 2003, just after the bombings in Kosovo. What actually was Yugoslavia, anyway? How did its dictator Tito's death give rise to Milosevic's era of bloodletting in Serbia? And how did the United States lead diplomatically to restore stability in the region?

Brand new to the job, Lizzie Slater arrives at Embassy Dar es Salaam ready to begin work on embassy communications of every kind. Then the bomb falls. She is buried and seriously injured. But once pulled from the rubble, does she stop working? Many of us would, but Lizzie climbs trees to place satellites and does every task needed to ensure communications between the embassy and the US.

Ambassador Prudence Bushnell puts Marie Yovanovitch's recent testimony on Capitol Hill in the context of the Certificate of Commission for all Foreign Service Officers, emphasizing the integrity, prudence and ability that are the guiding principle from which all American diplomats work. The message from Pete and Pru to current FSOs: We've got your back.

The Sequoia: A presidential yacht? A floating icon of American and diplomatic history? A loan gone south? Pete schools Laura on the proper pronoun for a thing of such great beauty (a "she", not an "it") and Mike Cantor does his best to answer our nosey questions about what really went on onboard. https://youtu.be/S1NcM6BW2Jo

We're in LA right now promoting a TV script we've written, inspired by many of AmDip's greatest stories including this one from an interview with Kate Canavan on the many things that can go wrong in Tijuana. Two air traffic controllers, fired for going on strike, go into (very) private industry. Pete's words: "Breaking Bad, in the skies."

AMLO, or Andrés Manuel López Obrador, President of Mexico, takes the long view, and so does the Mexican populace, in the face of insults and other perhaps spontaneous diplomatic communiques conveyed by tweet. As the 13th largest economy in the world, expected soon to be the eighth, they have big enough plans not to take the bait.

This one went to work in the Lyndon Johnson White House at the tender age of 25, became Johnson's Appointments Secretary (a role now called the Chief of Staff) at 28, and later became a congressman and US Ambassador to Mexico. Do you know how much time Lyndon Johnson spent in his pajamas? And what do Mexicans really think about their neighbor to the north? Find out both, in the first of two episodes with Jim Jones.

Communism drives immigration decisions, 1956. Hank Cohen is in love. It's his first tour, and he's in Paris. The Soviets invade Hungary and Hank helps thousands of refugees flee Communist aggression and make new lives in the US. But what about heartthrob megastar Yves Montand, who is an avowed Communist? How can Hank get him a visa? And about that girl...

We're refreshing one of our earlier (and best!) episodes from the early days, before anyone had heard of us. But now you have! And so we offer you the joy you may have missed, of learning what it is to be black, creole or colored, all words that have been used to describe Desiree Cormier, both here in the US and during her posting in South Africa. Enjoy!

We love music. We love it almost as much as we love listening to our friends tell stories about life overseas. So here's our end-of-summer look back on some of our favorite music in the series. Enjoy! Your pals, Pete and Laura

Larry Dinger regales us with tales of tires on fire, pollution, trekking, and one of the most bizarre episodes in monarchy in the world. Now Laura wants to join the Foreign Service and all of us want to go to Kathmandu.

It's 1991 in Ethiopia. President Mengistu and the rebels are at war. Drought and famine are killing thousands. As Charge d'Affaires in Addis Ababa, Bob Houdek oversees the evacuation of 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel, and why? Because, as Bob explains, "Immigration is one of the fundamental human rights under the UN convention."

Bill Burns says it best: "This is exactly the moment when you need to attract the best in our society to lives in public service, whether it's in the State Department, the US military or elsewhere. I am a passionate believer in that." We are, too! Uncle Sam needs you.

Burns shares stories from his engaging new book, The Back Channel.

Plus, a few good works. Vicki Huddleston gets around in the Sahara, and even gets the women a place inside the tent. So where did all these terrorists come from?

Vicki Huddleston, our ambassador in Mali (not to be confused with Bali), helps us understand the Sahel, the Sahara, and their vast range of inhabitants. Everyone got along so well, so how did this land become what the UN now calls the most dangerous mission on earth?

Now that Ortega is back, how is the revolution going? Nicaraguans are being shot, hauled off and denied medical services, while the president's coffers swell. A how-to kit, on how to steal democracy.

We have Independence Day, and for Nicaraguans Liberation Day is just as important. Celebrated July 19, this is the day the Sandinistas overthrew the Somoza dynasty in 1979. But what really is a Sandinista, and what's up with their leader Daniel Ortega now? Most importantly, how is life today for Nicaraguans?

Grass to tree roots: Ajani helps us understand how the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott in 1955 impacts lives today in Eritrea and the area that is now South Sudan.

Jimmy Kolker is back to tell us how, as Ambassador to Uganda, he helped stem the spread of this deadly disease and save scores of human lives.

How did Tom Shannon end up Secretary of State for 12 days? How do transitions work, when one president leaves and another takes office?

We revisit Pete's stories about Naples, with a couple of bonuses at the front. Happy summer!

Social Democracy in Northern Europe, not to be confused with socialism of any stripe. And what is socialism, anyway? With Ambassador Jimmy Kolker. Plus knowledge test: What fabulous 70s band brought us the name of this episode?

Peas in a pod? Or something much more complex? As it happens, each country is different, even if each would-be strong man looks much the same. Join Tom Shannon and Melvin Levitsky for an expert look at a fascinating polity. Part of our "Is It Happening Here?" series.

Will Cops-in-a-Box keep Fulanita home? What else do these guys have for us?

You think of your loved ones first: Honoring the lives of those who sacrificed theirs in the line of service. With remarks from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the story of Ambassador Jonathan Addleton.

What happens when Fulanita arrives? And what is this wall, really? And what do drugs have to do with all of this? Bill Brownfield and John Feeley, together with Pete, unpack the deets in our second of three episodes on the border. Plus, a barnyard narco song you do not want to miss.

Episode One, in which John Feeley, Bill Brownfield and Pete lay it all out: How and why does Fulanita, our Guatamalan every-gal, end up at the US border with young son Javier, delivered by the cartels' fancy coach service?

Remember the movie The Graduate? Fifty-two years on, here's where we are with plastics. It ain't pretty, but Bob Blake is on the job.

Miss us? Here's a midweek extra: Ashley Inman, a master's student at Georgetown who will become a US diplomat upon completion of her studies, shares her passion for service and her reasons for joining. Go, Ashley!

The life and (near) death of Indonesia's Palm Oil Pledge, a guy named Anderson and an air pollution monitor in Jakarta. Bob Blake works with private industry and government to foster lasting change in Indonesia.

Me, neither. Chris Teal, filmmaker, author and diplomat, shares the little-known tale of integrity and courage of the first African American diplomat, appointed 1869, preceding longtime friend Frederick Douglass by 20 years.

Michele Bond parses immigration and solves the whole conundrum. So what's the problem? (Hint: Pete thinks it's us.)

Courtesy, respect, denial (painful, but often true). Tourist visas to visit the US, with Michele Bond, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs. Can you guess why Pete is admitted and Laura is not?

In case you don't (say, you were born after 1960), Lauri Fitz-Pegado remembers him for us: his vision, his vim, his leadership, his significance to our participation in the worldwide economy. With bonus continuing comment from Pete on Venzuela.

Pete explains "the Neapolitan solution" in this love letter to his first European posting. Plus, he connects this to gangland diplomacy today.

You might survive your coca eradication crop duster plane going down, but then the mosquitoes will get you, which is still better than ripping the crops out of the Colombian earth. But, says Virginia Bennett, many small people in many small places doing small things can change the world. Perhaps it does.

Virginia Bennett's security detail made sure no one hurled bricks at her, while the Greek populace contemplated boiling the family bunny for dinner. Bennett helps us understand what the U.S. did to help average Greek people during their economic disaster of 2011-2014.

It's hard for an American to make friends in Cuba, circa 1990. But Jeff DeLaurentis finds a way, and learns that Communists can be complicated. And what are all of those old cars doing in Havana, anyway?

The Chavez/Maduro kleptocracy in Venezuela masquerades as a people's revolution. Almost two decades later, millions flee en masse. Pete was there when it all began and explains why Venezuela is suddenly all over the news.

Anwar Awlaki destroys, Abrar starves. Yemen today, with Gerald Feierstein.

What do Teddy Roosevelt, China, and the band Afrodisiaco all have in common? Panama! Learn why concerns that Pete once thought were partisan paranoia might be a serious, unrecognized source of concern today.

Gerald Feierstein, counterterrorism expert for the State Department, helps us understand how violent extremist groups attract young men, and what different nations do to bring them back to the fold, according to local values and customs.

Did you know that over 11 million jobs in the U.S. come from exports? And that they pay U.S. citizens 15-20% more than non-export related jobs? Dan Crocker debunks our most intrenched myths about trade. Plus, why does Pete ask if he's a meatball? Learn this and more, workin' at the Car Wash! (If you weren't alive in the 70s, this song will fill your heart with longing for the decade you missed.)

Why do we care about diversity in the Foreign Service? When did you know this job was "the one"? How do you do your job with so much danger out there these days? Students visiting the State Department as Cox Fellows have some pretty good questions. Julie Chung, Stacy Williams and Luis Mendez, plus of course Pete, give their two cents. Even Laura chimes in, when truly moved.

The American dream is alive and well at the U.S. Department of State. Stacy Williams, Luis Mendez and Julie Chung share with visiting Cox Fellows inspiring stories of their journeys from where they began to leadership roles in the Foreign Service. And to keep the inspiration going, music from Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove!

Did you know that 95% of the world's consumers live outside the United States? As President, Global Public Affairs at UPS, former Economics Officer Laura Lane helps reduce corruption at borders, in turn helping small and midsize businesses prosper, while advancing global rights for women and reducing poverty throughout the world.