Check out the Huffington Post article about The Embassy, reviewed by Bob Cesca.
Dante Paradiso speaks about his new book at Georgetown University in October, 2016.
“In a new book, Dante Paradiso depicts in graphic detail the attempts of an embassy team, aid workers and peacekeepers to help stave off catastrophe in Liberia as the state, ruled by the infamous Charles Taylor, he of “blood diamond” lore, collapses around them. The Embassy: A Story of War and Diplomacy,
“When U.S. Ambassador John W. Blaney refused to close the embassy after the first of three rebel attacks on the capital, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld appears to have pulled out augmented security and delayed the deployment of a requested Marine Fleet Antiterrorism Support Team to force the Ambassador to lower the flag. All, it seems, for expediency: Rumsfeld simply did not want to bother with assistance to an African country, an ally, one that had been founded by the United States and the stabilization of which would cost a fraction of a fraction of what was being spent in his misguided war in Iraq.
“The Embassy puts you in the room with the ambassador and his team as chaos engulfs Liberia. It makes takes us, in a visceral way, through the decisions that confront our diplomats and Marine Security Guards every day in places like Kabul, Mogadishu, and Bangui. The ambassador had to answer: Does he make a final attempt at diplomacy to stave off calamity? Or does he accept defeat and try and get as many of his people out before all hell breaks loose?”
To read the full article click here.