Robert Olson's downfall: The interconnectedness of diamonds and diplomacy

In 2012, Richard Olson began his tenure as the US ambassador to Pakistan, but he was met with hostility from the country due to the US military raid that killed Osama Bin Laden the previous year. Although Olson was praised for his diplomatic skills on the surface, his time in Islamabad was filled with scandal and controversy. Court documents have revealed that Olson engaged in extramarital affairs, received unreported gifts of diamond jewelry, and faced accusations of lying and illegal lobbying. Olson's lawyer defended him, stating that his career and service were honorable, but the former diplomat admitted to lying in ethics paperwork and violating revolving door laws by lobbying for Qatar within a year of retiring. As a result, Olson was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay a fine. His downfall was seen as a drastic departure from the typically reserved world of US diplomacy. The state department declined to comment on the case. One of the scandals surrounding Olson was his romantic involvement with a British journalist working in Pakistan. Olson and the journalist, Muna Habib, were in a relationship until Ms. Habib discovered that Olson was dating other women. They later reconciled and got married. Olson also faced scrutiny for accepting diamond jewelry worth $60,000 from an emir in Dubai. He failed to report the gift as required by law and claimed it was a gift for his mother-in-law, who was helping care for his children in Dubai. While Olson was not charged for his affair or the diamond incident, prosecutors used these incidents as evidence of a pattern of unethical behavior. Ultimately, Olson received a sentence of probation for his guilty plea to two misdemeanor charges, including lying about accepting a flight paid for by a lobbyist and providing assistance to the Qatari government within a year of his retirement. Experts believe that Olson's affair and the potential for blackmail it presented, along with his acceptance of inappropriate gifts, were significant concerns given the strained relationship between the US and Pakistan at the time. Despite escaping jail time, Olson's actions tarnished his previously esteemed career as a diplomat and were seen as a departure from the ethical standards typically upheld in the field of US diplomacy.