Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked about the safety of American diplomats in the U.S. embassy in Caracas, Venezuela. The United States has recognized an opposition leader in that country as the legitimate president. Needless to say, Nicolás Maduro, elected president in a sham election, is not pleased and has made various threats against the embassy.

Pompeo replied as his predecessors have replied for decades in similar situations: The safety of its diplomatic personnel is the highest priority of the State Department. Given the number of American diplomats who have been killed in recent decades, concerns are valid.

A long time ago, after the first Gulf war against the Iraqi invaders of Kuwait in 1991, I knew two people affected by the buildup to that war. One was a junior diplomat in Kuwait on his first assignment. The other was the office manager in Baghdad, staying behind with the few remaining diplomats in that embassy.

The U.S. ambassador in besieged Kuwait, now overrun with Iraqi forces, sent greetings to his colleagues back in Washington: “Your colleagues in Embassy Kuwait are pleased to send you our greetings this evening. All things considered, we would prefer to be with you in person, but you will appreciate that this is not possible.”

When the invading Iraqis cut off utility services, the Americans reportedly used water stored in a swimming pool.

I had a more than passing interest in what was happening in those days. I was on my own first assignment to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a country bordering Kuwait.

Eventually, diplomats in both Iraq and Kuwait were allowed to evacuate before the war began. Families and friends breathed a sigh of relief.

After the end of the war, another colleague, whom I knew in Jeddah during the war, was assigned to accompany the victorious Americans returning to the embassy in Kuwait. I was jealous. I have pictures of her as she and her colleagues watched while the U.S. flag was raised again over the embassy.

Here’s to hoping the situation in Venezuela is resolved peacefully and in the interests of the Venezuelan people.