American Diplomat

Secrecy, executions, and human shields in Sri Lanka.  Our diplomats make a difference in thousands of people's lives.  

Who are the Tamil Tigers?  Hint: This is no baseball team and they aren't playing ball.

Crisis averted:  Where there might have been massive flight, and/or a narco state, Colombia instead enjoys stability and prosperity amid a new peace agreement.

Cocaleros, paramilitaries, a dirty war and a failing state in Colombia.

She wasn't Wendy Sherman or a woman or a Jewish American. She was the United States of America.

An unwavering belief in public service propels Wendy Sherman from local activist to international negotiator.  

Putting pedophiles in prison with the help of one of the world's most loathed autocrats.

Zimbabwe's elected authoritarian, Robert Mugabe, seen from a human perspective.

Charles English, 26 and new to the Foreign Service, is among the first American officials on the scene of the Jonestown massacre in 1978.  

Mike Senko describes rocket-propelled grenades exploding outside his office, driving a car at gunpoint, and the reason Foreign Service Officers volunteer to take these risks.  

Tom Miller discusses the decapitation of Greece's November 17 terrorist group, and reminds us that life in the Foreign Service can be very dangerous.

Tom Miller assists refugees and reports on the opium and heroin trade in Asia's golden triangle.  A close friend is murdered in retaliation for DEA success.

Jett explains that many Americans are not aware that other countries' laws apply to them, and shares the personal rewards of a Foreign Service career.  

Dennis Jett describes three warring factions in Liberia, evacuations and a flotilla of Marines off the African coast.

From Vietnam to Afghanistan, from infantry to embassy - how were these two wars the same, and how were they different?  How does a military background inform an ambassador's work?

Service in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Nicaragua, all leading up to plans for US immigration reform that are stopped short by 9/11.

Lino Gutierrez experiences the Cuban revolution, Columbian "Violencia", and the American struggle for civil rights first hand, all before he is nine years old.

Says Tim: "Nobody foresaw ISIS.  Nobody foresaw the failure to deal with the chasm between the Sunnis and the Shia.  The personal foreboding was that this can't end well."

Religious police stop Gina and terrorists attack the consulate general in Jeddah.

Do you know where to find a hooker in Oman?  Go to the hospital!  And what happens when your boss nixes your husband's job choice in Saudi Arabia, and you are intent on preserving your marriage?  Let's ask Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley.   And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast!

Vietnam, Cambodia, Haiti, South Africa - Tim was part of each country's inflection point; some got better, and some got much worse. Why?  And what happens when Washington muzzles reports from the officers in the field?