The nearly year-long federal investigation against Robin Raphel, a veteran American diplomat, for allegedly spying for Pakistan has all but fizzled, The New York Times reported Sunday.Last fall, federal agents raided the home and office of Robin Raphel in search of proof that she was spying for Pakistan. But officials now say the spying investigation has all but fizzled, leaving the Justice Department to decide whether to prosecute Raphel for the far less serious charge of keeping classified information in her home.The fallout from the investigation has in the meantime seriously damaged Robin’s reputation, built over decades in some of the world’s most volatile countries. If the Justice Department declines to file spying charges, as several officials said they expected, it will be the latest example of American law enforcement agencies bringing an espionage investigation into the public eye, only to see it dissipate under further scrutiny. Last month, the Justice Department dropped charges against a Temple University physicist who had been accused of sharing sensitive information with China. In May, prosecutors dropped all charges against a government hydrologist who had been under investigation for espionage. Robin has for decades been at the centre of shaping American policy towards Pakistan, and she has maintained close ties to Pakistani officials even as many of her colleagues became disenchanted with what they saw as Islamabad’s duplicity in the fight against terrorism. Some American investigators viewed Robin’s relationships with deep suspicion. The case of Ms Raphel however does not seem likely to fade away like the aforementioned cases as the investigating parties are pressing for her to be charged under the Espionage Act for keeping the classified documents at her home, a conviction for which will carry a prison sentence lasting years. This is because of the complicated and tense relationship between the country of her origin, the US, and the country she allegedly spies for, Pakistan, and the contours of this case reflect the paranoia amongst US officials about the duplicitous intentions of their long time ally. Robin Raphel has been at the centre of shaping US foreign policy towards Pakistan and has often argued in favour of the Pakistani positions and interests in the various positions of influence she held under the US State Department, and is a much favoured figure in Islamabad due to her sympathetic ear and reliability as a liaison to Washington. It seems clear that she is therefore a victim of the US’s fluctuating attitudes towards Pakistan, as the friendliness Raphel displayed towards Pakistan was part of the then-official policy of rapprochement with Pakistan and now that the administration in the US has become disillusioned with Pakistan’s attitude towards militant groups, they view anyone who played an advocate for Pakistan with suspicion. A fine, decades-long career has been ruined because of the internal contradictions of US foreign policy and the swing of the political pendulum.
pk.shafaqna.com
