Word: laingen
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...about the Shah's illness. In his evening report Vance noted that David Rockefeller had sent his personal physician to Mexico and that if the Shah's ailments were serious we might be asked to admit him for treatment. Cy added, "Our charge d'affaires [Bruce Laingen] in Tehran says local hostility toward the Shah continues and that the augmented influence of the clerics might mean an even worse reaction than would have been the case a few months ago, if we were to admit the Shah-even for humanitarian purposes...
...happened that Henry Precht, the State Department s Director for Iranian Affairs, was in Iran with Laingen at the time. They were instructed to inform Bazargan and Foreign Minister Ibrahim Yazdi of the Shah's condition, tell them of our possible plans to provide treatment for him and seek their assistance. The next day I received a message from Laingen. He had told the two top Iranian officials that neither the Shah nor his wife would be involved in political activities while in the U.S., and asked for a guarantee of protection for American citizens in Iran. They...
When the Shah was finally admitted to the U.S. for medical treatment, Laingen initially reported only a "minimal" response in Iran, but he soon knew better...
...negative reaction has been gradually building," he cabled on Oct. 28. Three days later, the last message from Laingen recounted a conversation with a leading Iranian diplomat. Reported Laingen: "He made an emotional and unofficial plea to explain why Shah must leave U.S outside pressures on the Foreign Ministry were too strong . . . otherwise there will be a crisis." Four days later, the crisis began...
...Washington. But in the following months, as relations between the U.S. and Iran seemed to improve, most of the documents were returned to Tehran. Washington has at least learned some lessons from the massive loss of documents. "We obviously failed to destroy material that should have been," admits Laingen. The State Department is now testing more efficient means of destruction, experimenting with storing sensitive information in computer banks, and transferring data electronically, thus reducing the need for keeping so many documents at U.S. embassies...