Posted on 11/07/2014 5:04:24 AM PST by csvset
A veteran State Department diplomat and longtime Pakistan expert is under federal investigation as part of a counterintelligence probe and has had her security clearances withdrawn, according to U.S. officials.
The FBI searched the Northwest Washington home of Robin L. Raphel last month, and her State Department office was also examined and sealed, officials said. Raphel, a fixture in Washington’s diplomatic and think-tank circles, was placed on administrative leave last month, and her contract with the State Department was allowed to expire this week.
Two U.S. officials described the investigation as a counterintelligence matter, which typically involves allegations of spying on behalf of foreign governments. The exact nature of the investigation involving Raphel remains unclear.
She has not been charged. A spokesman for Raphel said she was cooperating with investigators but has not been told the “scope or nature or that she is the target” of any probe. U.S. officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. Spokesmen with the FBI and the Justice Department’s National Security Division declined to comment. Details of federal counterintelligence investigations are typically closely held and the cases can span years.
Although Raphel has spent much of her career on Pakistan issues, it was unknown whether the investigation, being run by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, was related to her work with that country. “We are aware of this law enforcement matter,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. “The State Department has been cooperating with our law enforcement colleagues.” “She is no longer employed by the State Department,” Psaki said.
Raphel did not respond to attempts to reach her by phone and e-mail. Her daughter also declined to comment, instead referring questions to a family spokesman.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Of course this just reinforces what FReepers already know..NEVER EVER TRUST A DEMOCRAT!
closeted moslem?
What exactly does it take to be an ‘expert’ in ANYTHING in today’s world.
In some cases (it appears) all one has to do is say they are one.
Whenever I see _________ expert I am reminded of G Castanza saying to J Seinfeld:
He is a Civil War Buff.
I always wanted to be a Civil War Buff.
What does it take for one to be called a Civil War Buff?
Of course we need people like George around to solve the MAJOR PROBLEMS while the rest of us tackle the little things.
especially when they are flamboyantly pro-muslim
I am shocked!! How could this ever happen in the most transparent government in US history!
The State Department is inundated with appeasers and traitors to this country. Just look at who apparently called the shots on Benghazi.
And how State can make the calls on military actions overseas has gotten entirely out of hand. They need to be reined in.
A Clinton appointee with uncomfortably close interest in the well being of the Taliban; worked under [the noe deceased] Holbrooke and was later brought back after retiring by Obama, no doubr to coddle the Taliban some more...
Her former husband was a US diplomat who was killed on the same flight that went down with a Pakistani president on board- the very same one who was responsible for initiating Aadeer Khan’s international “axis of evil” nuclear proliferation network
She was also involved with Equatorial Guinea and the Indians despised her for what they saw as her encouragement of islamists in Kashmir
Best definition I've ever heard (can't remember who said it) is that an expert is someone who can consistently make predictions in his field of expertise that are significantly more accurate than chance. Simply knowing a lot about something doesn't qualify, since expertise involves knowing how something works, not just having encyclopedic knowledge.
Veteran Diplomat Robin Raphel’s Office , Home Searched
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/06/us/fbi-diplomat-search/index.html
[snip] ...She was also considered close to a US-based Kashmiri leader Syed Ghulam Mohammad Fai who was arrested by the FBI in July 2011 for concealing the transfer of $3.5 million from Pakistan to fund his lobbying efforts and influence the US government on the Kashmir conflict. In March 2012, Fai was sentenced to two years imprisonment by a US court for conspiracy to defraud the US by concealing the transfer of funding from a Pakistani intelligence agency for his illegal lobbying efforts on Jammu & Kashmir.
Pakistani establishment circles also point out the pertinent fact that Robin Raphel also used to maintain close ties with the chief of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front Yasin Malik. Besides, she was also considered close to the most prominent face of the Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
Before being appointed the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia by President Bill Clinton, Raphel was serving in the US Embassy in New Delhi. It is a well known fact that in 2005, Raphel accompanied then US Deputy Chief of Mission in Delhi for a meeting with the Indian government and tried to persuade the then Indian government to talk to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. [/snip] -——FBI probe against Raphel a bad omen for Pakistan , Amir Mir
Sunday, November 09, 2014 ; From Print Edition
The News International , http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-33985-FBI-probe-against-Raphel-a-bad-omen-for-Pakistan
ping
NY Times says she had taken classified documents home with her
One little oddity is the Indian papers said early on in her career she had been assigned to South Africa...
There is no mention of this in US sources that I’ve seen so far.
Thanks for the ping. Raphel first came onto my radar in connection with her involvement in the Unocal pipe project, which represented a consortium that included the Saudi-based Delta Oil, Russia’s Gazprom, and Pakistan’s Crescent Group. Her activity during Iraq Reconstruction is also of interest. Follow the money.
PS: I see someone already added Cassidy & Associates to the keyword tags.
that would be me
She was also Iraq reconstruction coordinator, testified in Oil for Food case
At one point in the war, in 1997, two top foreign policy officials in the Clinton administration flew to northern Afghanistan in an attempt to convince Massoud not to take advantage of a strategic opportunity to make crucial gains against the Taliban.[88]
In 1998, a US Defense Intelligence Agency analyst, Julie Sirrs, visited Massoud's territories privately, having previously been denied official permission to do so by her agency. She reported that Massoud had conveyed warnings about strengthened ties between the Taliban and foreign Islamist terrorists. Returning home, she was sacked from her agency for insubordination, because at that time the US administration had no trust in Massoud.[88] -----------http://www.worldheritage.org/articles/Ahmad_Shah_Massoud
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