Robyn Raphael was possibly Pakistan's greatest asset in USA.
Reconciliation efforts in Kashmir
At the State Department, Raphel prioritized resolution of the Kashmir problem to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan as one the central policy positions during her tenure. Her characterization of Kashmir as "disputed territory" – a first in the annals of U.S. diplomacy – made her popular in Pakistan
, where her first husband
Arnold Raphel had been ambassador
[15] while also making her unpopular with the Indian establishment, which was loath to allow any interference of outside powers in what New Delhi considered a purely domestic matter.
[16] Kashmir was raised on the agenda in Bhutto's first state visit to Washington in April 1995. It would remain a key topic of regional and bilateral discussions with both India and Pakistan throughout Clinton's two terms in office. Raphel's outspoken advocacy of a principled resolution in Kashmir would lead to pressure from India for Raphel to be removed from her post.
[16] She left the State Department's South Asia section in late June 1997.
[1]
Engaging and cooperating with the Taliban
A second major policy directive that Raphel advocated and developed during her tenure was engagement and cooperation with the Taliban.
[15] Her positions raised equal measure of praise and scorn.
[17] U.S. energy policies in the mid-1990s sought to develop alternative supply routes to counter increasing tensions in the Middle East. The Clinton administration supported oil and gas pipelines to transport
Turkmenistan's rich energy reserves through Afghanistan to an exit at Pakistan's Indian Ocean seaport of
Gwadar.
[18]:165 Raphel openly spoke in favor of a proposed pipeline project by
Unocal Corporation, an American oil company, on trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan in April and August 1996. Overt Clinton administration support for the Unocal project, and the subsequent taking of Kabul in September 1996 by the Taliban, raised concerns in Russia and Iran that U.S. intelligence assets were behind the rise of Taliban control in Afghanistan to advance U.S. energy interests in the region.
[18]:165
Raphel was instrumental in coordinating the State Department's establishment of diplomatic relations with the Taliban shortly after its takeover of Kabul.
[19]:300 A senior Unocal executive commented that the pipeline project would be far easier to implement with the Taliban in control, in reference to the need for central control in Afghanistan to undertake a project of the size, complexity and cost the Texas-based oil giant was considering.
[18]:166 Unocal's consortium also included Saudi Arabia's Delta Oil, Pakistan's Crescent Group and
Gazprom of Russia. The project involved building an 890-kilometer gas pipeline that would carry 1.9 billion cubic feet of gas to Pakistan each day.
[20]:95 Unocal held detailed discussions with Taliban representatives in Houston in December 1997, striking a deal
[21] that would later collapse under the weight of rising U.S. and Afghan domestic political pressures against the Taliban's record on human rights, education and treatment of women.
[18]:171–174
In pursuing the Clinton administration's energy objectives through construction of the $4.5 billion
Afghanistan Oil Pipeline, Raphel created ill will with Afghanistan's
Northern Alliance, then under the command of
Ahmad Shah Masood.
[20]:95 Masood-controlled militias blocked the pipeline's northern access route due to the longstanding civil war with Taliban forces. After Masood was killed September 9, 2001 in a Taliban bombing, Raphel's critics accused her of collaborating with the Taliban to advance American commercial interests even as the group gave refuge to
Osama bin Laden,
Ayman al-Zawahiri and other senior
al-Qaeda leaders in the time leading up to the
September 11 attacks.
[19]
Rapprochement with Pakistan
Raphel entered her State Department assignment at a time when U.S.-Pakistan relations were strained. Sanctions imposed by
George H. W. Bush over concerns about Pakistan's burgeoning nuclear program under the
Pressler Amendmentbanned all military ties, supply of military hardware and jet fighters, and cut off political relations with Islamabad.
[22] Bhutto sought rapprochement with the Clinton White House, and Raphel became a key player in orchestrating the renewal of ties, visiting the United States in April 1995.
[23] Raphel, working with Pakistan's envoy to Washington at the time,
Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, helped craft administration policy changes and build Congressional support that would ultimately become law through repeal of the
Pressler Amendment.
[24] The Brown Amendment was put into effect in November 1995.
[25]:78 It restored U.S.-Pakistan relations and allowed Raphel to proceed apace in executing U.S. energy objectives in the region, now with new-found support from the Pakistani military for restoring military-to-military ties and its civilian government for insuring return of funds paid by Pakistan to the United States for undelivered
F-16 fighterjets.
[25]
Impact in India
Raphel's emphasis on providing Pakistan with military aid, siding with Pakistan on Kashmir issue and construction of oil line in Afghanistan for supply to Pakistan made her unpopular within the Indian establishment, despite being stationed in New Delhi in her early career.
[26] Her characterization in her capacity as an official of the State Department official of Kashmir as disputed territory and her lobbying for separatists in
Jammu and Kashmir when she was stationed there made her a target of criticism in India.
[16] Her official position on the topic was overshadowed by off-the-record comments in which she questioned whether India's territorial integrity might not be changed by seeking self-determination rights for Kashmiris. Raphel also sided with
Sikh separatists and persuaded Clinton to support them. She was seen in New Delhi as a catalyst for Washington's "trafficking with India's enemies".
[26]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Raphel
If broke countries like Pakistan can buy up people like Raphel, imagine what Saudis can buy.
