It goes to very recent times, almost all Arabic&Islamic departments in the US universities (the ones that matter, anyway) have a link to either the CIA, the State Department or even the Department of Defense. Needless to say, the same used to apply to Slavic Studies departments (and I bet it still does), see the infamous Victoria Nuland [1]:
> She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Brown University in 1983, where she studied Russian literature, political science, and history
> She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Brown University in 1983, where she studied Russian literature, political science, and history
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Nuland#Early_life_and...