Word: laingen
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...Laingen letter is among hundreds of classified embassy cables, Government documents and personal papers seized by the militants and published in a set of 13 paperback books in Iran last spring. Though the volumes have been sold in Tehran for months, for about $8 a set, the contents became widely known only as the books began to be distributed in Europe in recent weeks. Many documents were found intact by the embassy attackers but others had been shredded by frantic U.S. personnel. These have been painstakingly pasted back together by the militants. The papers were of different colors-blue, pink...
Meanwhile, the Shah wanted to come to the U.S., but embassy officials in Tehran were wary. "For us now to give refuge to the Shah would almost certainly trigger massive demonstrations against our embassy," Laingen cabled to Washington in July. "With luck, they may stop at that, without a physical assault. But there could be no assurance of that...
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...