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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/State Department.md
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@ -8,52 +8,43 @@ tags:
- USA
- Diplomatic
- Foreign Policy
- Dark_Alliance_Investigation
description: The United States Department of State is the federal executive department responsible for the nation's foreign policy and international relations.
category: "U.S. Government"
summary: "The State Department serves as the federal executive department responsible for the United States' foreign policy and international relations."
---
The [[State Department]] serves as the federal executive department responsible for the [[United States]]' foreign policy and international relations.
### Middle East Policy and the Osirak Incident
In June 1981, following Israel's bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at [[Osirak]], the State Department issued a formal condemnation, stating the attack "cannot but seriously add to the already tense situation in the area." This public stance, however, contradicted President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s private acceptance of the raid.[^2]
In June 1981, following Israel's bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at [[Osirak bombing]], the State Department issued a formal condemnation. This public stance contradicted President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s private acceptance of the raid.[^2]
### The Moscow Signal Cover-Up
The State Department played a central role in managing the U.S. government's response to the [[Moscow Signal]], a microwave beam that the [[Soviet Union]] directed at the [[U.S. Embassy in Moscow]] from 1956-1976. The department established a classified program code-named the [[Moscow Viral Study]], ostensibly a "cytogenic testing program" designed to secretly conduct genetic testing on embassy personnel who had been exposed to the signal. Embassy employees were deliberately misled, being told they were merely being tested for a simple viral infection.[^3]
Despite scientific concerns about potential health effects from the Moscow Signal, the State Department publicly minimized the dangers and commissioned studies that concluded there was "no convincing evidence" of adverse health effects. This position became increasingly controversial as several U.S. ambassadors who had served in Moscow subsequently died of cancer. The department eventually terminated the secret testing program due to mounting concerns about conducting covert medical experiments on its own employees.[^3]
The State Department played a central role in managing the U.S. government's response to the [[Moscow Signal]], establishing a classified program code-named the [[Moscow Viral Study]] to secretly conduct genetic testing on embassy personnel. Embassy employees were deliberately misled about the testing's purpose. The department publicly minimized the dangers despite scientific concerns.[^3]
### BCCI Banking Scandal Involvement
Beginning in 1983, the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] started distributing intelligence about the criminal activities of the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]] to various government agencies, including the State Department.[^5] By September 1986, the State Department had access to a CIA report indicating that BCCI had owned [[First American Bank]] since 1982.[^4]
The State Department received additional CIA intelligence throughout this period, including a 1986 report detailing BCCI's connections to the terrorist organization [[Abu Nidal]] and the bank's maintenance of multiple accounts at BCCI European branches.[^5] In 1987, the CIA provided further intelligence to the State Department regarding BCCI's role in financing illegal international weapons sales.[^5]
Rather than pursuing these criminal allegations, the State Department took steps to protect BCCI's operations. The department silenced [[Paula Hawkins]], provided reassurances to Pakistani leader [[Zia ul-Haq|Zia]], and worked to appease BCCI founder [[Agha Hasan Abedi]] regarding the bank's money-laundering activities in the [[Cayman Islands]].[^6]
Beginning in 1983, the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] started distributing intelligence about the criminal activities of the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]] to the State Department.[^5] By September 1986, the State Department had access to a CIA report indicating BCCI had owned [[First American Bank]] since 1982.[^4] Rather than pursuing criminal allegations, the department silenced [[Paula Hawkins]] and worked to protect BCCI's operations.[^6]
### Odyssey Network Evidence Destruction
The State Department under Secretary of State [[Henry Kissinger]] played a central role in the destruction of evidence related to the [[Odyssey Network]] child trafficking investigation in 1973. The department received over 30,000 index cards containing client names from [[John David Norman]]'s operation and subsequently destroyed them, preventing further investigation into prominent individuals involved in the trafficking network.[^7]
The State Department under Secretary of State [[Henry Kissinger]] received over 30,000 index cards containing client names from [[John David Norman]]'s child trafficking operation in 1973 and subsequently destroyed them, preventing further investigation.[^7]
In August 1973, Dallas Police Lieutenant [[Harold Hancock]] arrested [[John David Norman]] and confiscated more than 30,000 index cards listing clients across the United States, including prominent people and federal employees in Washington. Hancock contacted the State Department through the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], believing a federal agency should handle the evidence. All cards were sent to Washington to the State Department, where they would later be destroyed.[^7]
### Dark Alliance Investigation
State Department counselor [[Matthew Nimetz]] confirmed the department received the cards but claimed officials determined they were "not relevant to any fraud case concerning a passport" and therefore destroyed them. Nimetz was unable to explain why the State Department only examined the cards from the standpoint of possible passport irregularities or why they were not turned over to the FBI or postal inspectors.[^7]
The State Department granted [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]] political asylum in 1984 despite the [[DEA]] having identified him as a major cocaine trafficker since 1983. It is State Department policy to check with the DEA before approving asylum applications. When the Justice Department's Inspector General examined Blandón's immigration records, he found them "in disarray." The same occurred with Blandón's wife [[Chepita Blandon|Chepita]], granted asylum in 1985 despite being reported as a "member of a cocaine distribution organization."[^8]
The State Department later confirmed in an official statement to the [[Chicago Tribune]] in 1977 and in a letter to a US congressional inquiry into child exploitation that the evidence had been destroyed. According to their records, the cards were placed into State Department storage in December 1974, where they remained "without review" until being destroyed in September 1975.[^7]
During the investigation, Dallas PD mentioned to a State Department agent that two names found on the index cards matched those of State Department employees. This information was relayed to Washington before September 5, 1973. The State Department confirmed two of its employees had similar names to ones found on client index cards, with one having been assigned to the US embassy in Mexico City. No further investigation was conducted into these connections.[^7]
In late 1976, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] requested to review the Odyssey Network materials in State Department storage as part of an investigation into information that government employees had been clients of the network. The State Department advised the FBI that all evidence had unfortunately been destroyed except for a few items.[^7]
The timeline of State Department involvement raises questions about the destruction of evidence. Norman's Dallas arrest occurred in August 1973, with the "kill" photographs discovered at that time. The State Department destroyed the evidence in September 1975, and in June 1975, charges against Norman from his Dallas arrest were dismissed. The timing suggests the evidence destruction may have been related to the dismissal of charges. Shortly after Norman published his first newsletter from Cook County Jail in 1977, someone in California provided the $36,000 cash needed for his bail. The source of this funding was never identified by police, raising questions about who may have had an interest in Norman's release and the destruction of the client evidence.[^7]
The State Department's handling of the Odyssey Network evidence represents one of the most significant examples of obstruction in child trafficking investigations, preventing the identification and prosecution of numerous high-profile clients involved in Norman's national trafficking operation.[^7]
The State Department's Office of Public Diplomacy for Latin America was described by a 1992 House committee report as "a domestic, covert operation designed to lobby the Congress, manipulate the media and influence domestic public opinion" regarding the Contra war. The State Department issued a White Paper on Contra drug allegations that belittled every claim except those involving the [[Sandinistas]], studiously avoiding any mention of [[Norwin Meneses]].[^9]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. _The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal_. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. _The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy_. Random House, 1991.
[^3]: Jacobsen, Annie. _Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis_. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
[^4]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. _The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI_. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 12.
[^5]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. _The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI_. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 366.
[^6]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. _The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI_. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 363.
[^7]: Dovey, S. (2023). _Eye of the Chickenhawk_. United States: Thehotstar.
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991.
[^3]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
[^4]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 12.
[^5]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank*. Random House, 1993, p. 366.
[^6]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank*. Random House, 1993, p. 363.
[^7]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar.
[^8]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 10: "Teach a man a craft and he's liable to practice it"
[^9]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 15 and Chapter 9