ROBIN LYNN RAPHEL: ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR SOUTH ASIAN AFFAIRS
Upon returning to Washington in 1978, Ms. Raphel worked in the State Department in several capacities -- Economist in the Office of Investment Affairs, Economic Officer on the Israel Desk, Staff Aide for the Assistant Secretary for the Near East and South Asian Affairs, and Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. In 1984 she was posted to London where she served in the U.S. Embassy as a Political Officer covering Middle East, South Asia, African and East Asian issues. She moved to South Africa in 1988 as Counselor for Political-Affairs at the U.S. Embassy. From August 1991 until August 1993, Ms. Raphel was the Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.
This is also interesting:
Deciding Who Rebuilds Iraq Is Fraught With Infighting
ORHA experienced bureaucratic intrigue even before the end of the Iraq war. Rumsfeld initially blocked eight individuals nominated by the State Department, reportedly because he considered them "too low-profile and bureaucratic" for the work envisioned. The Pentagon subsequently withdrew its objections, and a number of senior positions are now occupied by former State Department officials. Barbara K. Bodine, who was ambassador to Yemen when terrorists bombed the destroyer USS Cole at a Yemeni port in October 2000, has been named coordinator for central Iraq. Former ambassadors Robin Raphel and Timothy Carney are in charge of trade and industry, respectively. Garner's deputies for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance are both retired from the State Department.
Ambassador Robin Raphel, Senior Vice President of the National Defense University, and former U.S. ambassador to Tunisia, is serving as a member of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) in Iraq. ORHA will form the nucleus of an interim government in post-Saddam Iraq and is headed by Ambassador Paul Bremer. The Office will coordinate humanitarian assistance, reconstruct damaged infrastructure and set the country on the road to a representative self-government before authority is fully handed over to the Iraqis. Ambassador Raphel will serve in the Ministry of Trade.