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] ### 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] ### 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] ### 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.