{"id":590486,"date":"2023-09-09T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-09T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/us-support-for-morocco-is-no-mistake-biden-should-reaffirm-it\/"},"modified":"2023-09-09T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-09T15:00:00","slug":"us-support-for-morocco-is-no-mistake-biden-should-reaffirm-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/us-support-for-morocco-is-no-mistake-biden-should-reaffirm-it\/","title":{"rendered":"#US support for Morocco is no mistake. Biden should reaffirm it."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/morocco_israel_07172023_AP_AP23198721856298.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Weeks before Joe Biden was inaugurated president in January 2021, while serving as assistant secretary for Near East affairs, I <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>ed to the Western Sahara. A little more than a month earlier, President Trump had\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ma.usembassy.gov\/proclamation-on-recognizing-the-sovereignty-of-the-kingdom-of-morocco-over-the-western-sahara\/\">recognized Moroccan sovereignty<\/a>\u00a0over the disputed territory and pledged to establish a consulate in the region to encourage Morocco to normalize relations with Israel. A\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Joint-Declaration-US-Morrocco-Israel.pdf\">peace agreement<\/a>\u00a0was signed that day, but the decision, which reversed longstanding U.S. policy, was nevertheless controversial.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/1\/9\/us-diplomat-visits-western-sahara-after-morocco-israel-deal\">My visit<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the first of a senior U.S. government official in nearly four decades \u2014 was intended to reinforce and solidify the U.S. commitment prior to the transition.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The highlight of the two-day trip was a tour of a building in the southern town of Dakhla that the Moroccan Foreign Ministry had identified as a potential site for a U.S. consulate. Given State Department bureaucracy, the excursion was necessarily more symbolic than operational \u2014 it would take years under the best circumstances to open a U.S. diplomatic facility in such a remote location, and the administration was changing in two weeks. Still, this public reaffirmation of Washington\u2019s consulate promise was important due to concerns the Biden administration might walk back the recognition.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To be sure, Trump\u2019s decision had some downsides. For some, it raised questions of U.S. credibility vis-\u00e0-vis the international norm prohibiting the acquisition of territory by force. Others lamented the abandonment of U.S. diplomatic assurances to the Algerian-backed\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/israel-usa-morocco-polisario-int\/polisario-front-condemns-u-s-backing-of-moroccan-claim-to-western-sahara-idUSKBN28K2NQ\">Polisario Front<\/a>, the representatives of the territory\u2019s indigenous Sahrawi population. Still, the benefits of the Morocco-Israel deal for the parties, the wider region, and for U.S. interests, have been significant. And to date, my office has tracked some 55 states \u2014 nearly 30 percent of all countries \u2014 that have articulated support for Moroccan rule.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Regrettably, as anticipated, while the Biden administration\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2022\/07\/14\/the-jerusalem-u-s-israel-strategic-partnership-joint-declaration\/\">endorsed<\/a>\u00a0the Israel-Morocco peace agreement, it has been ambivalent if not hostile toward the Trump administration\u2019s recognition of sovereignty. Indeed, shortly after the inauguration, the Biden team announced it would conduct a\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/6\/13\/why-biden-administration-and-western-sahara#:~:text=His%20administration%20also%20reaffirmed%20its,a%20review%20of%20the%20policy.\">review<\/a>\u00a0of U.S. policy on Western Sahara, raising the specter it would rescind the decision. Since then, the administration has neither\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2021\/04\/30\/biden-keep-trump-western-sahara-recogntion-morocco\">officially reaffirmed<\/a>\u00a0the recognition nor moved to open a consulate. The U.S. Embassy in Rabat continues to feature a Trump-era story on its website about a\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ma.usembassy.gov\/embassy-consulate\/vpp-western-sahara\/\">virtual mission in Dakhla<\/a>, promising an eventual brick-and-mortar consulate, but that information hasn\u2019t been updated since January 2021.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Over the past two years, the administration has consistently\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/briefings\/department-press-briefing-july-18-2023\/\">refused to comment<\/a>\u00a0on Western Sahara. This vacillation has been reflected not only by omissions in the administration statements but also in the content of State Department documents. The department\u2019s\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices\/\">2022 Report on Human Rights Practices<\/a>, for example, lists the Western Sahara separately from Morocco and\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices\/morocco\">declares that<\/a>\u00a0\u201cMorocco claims sovereignty over the territory,\u201d completely disregarding articulated U.S. policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>No doubt, the administration\u2019s Western Sahara equivocations are at least in part an attempt to mollify Algiers, which\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/africa\/20201212-algeria-slams-foreign-manoeuvres-over-us-brokered-deal-on-w-sahara\">was livid<\/a>\u00a0with the U.S. recognition. A year into the war in Ukraine,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2022\/6\/9\/algerias-growing-importance-to-italy\">Algerian gas<\/a>\u00a0is increasingly critical to U.S. allies in Europe. Likewise, given the growing\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/press.un.org\/en\/2023\/sc15283.doc.htm\">instability in the Sahel<\/a>, ongoing U.S.-Algeria counterterrorism cooperation is more important than ever. Not surprisingly, Algiers <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roves of the Biden team\u2019s approach. Last month, the foreign minister\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.al-monitor.com\/originals\/2023\/08\/algerian-fm-satisfied-bidens-western-sahara-policy\">said<\/a>\u00a0he was \u201cvery much satisfied\u201d with current U.S. policy on Western Sahara.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Unquestionably, Algeria is an important U.S. partner. However, it\u2019s not a reliable ally or major non-NATO partner on the level of Morocco. Rabat buys\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.moroccoworldnews.com\/2020\/09\/320678\/morocco-dominates-mena-region-in-purchases-of-us-arms\">over 90 percent<\/a>\u00a0of its weapons from the U.S. and is strategically monogamous with Washington. Not only does Algiers purchase\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2023\/01\/11\/algeria-energy-oil-brics-russia-china\/\">80 percent<\/a>\u00a0of its weapons from Russia and consistently\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/carnegieendowment.org\/2023\/04\/26\/will-invasion-of-ukraine-change-russia-africa-relations-pub-89596\">abjure from condemning Moscow<\/a>\u00a0at the United Nations for its invasion of Ukraine, according to Algerian President\u00a0Abdelmadjid Tebboune, China\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fmprc.gov.cn\/eng\/zxxx_662805\/202307\/t20230718_11114879.html\">is his state\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0\u201cmost important friend and partner.\u201d Algeria is also an ardent\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/3\/22\/algerian-president-says-morocco-ties-reached-point-of-no-return\">opponent<\/a>\u00a0of Israel\u2019s regional integration.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The Biden administration is clearly irritated with the Western Sahara policy it inherited, but nearly three years on, a reversal of the recognition would be devastating. Not only would it undermine bilateral relations with Morocco, it would exacerbate Washington\u2019s already serious credibility deficit with its other Middle Eastern allies. At a minimum, it would further weaken Riyadh\u2019s confidence in Washington at a time when the kingdom is said to be seeking U.S.\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/energy\/2023\/08\/22\/a-saudi-israeli-peace-deal-who-wants-what-and-why\/ad09133e-40c2-11ee-9677-53cc50eb3f77_story.html\">security guarantees<\/a>\u00a0as a condition for Saudi peace with Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Today, Washington\u2019s commitment to its allies in the Middle East is suspect, and this skepticism is engendering an epidemic of strategic hedging with China, Russia and Iran. In this context, U.S. follow-through on Western Sahara commitments made to one of Washington\u2019s oldest and closest allies is being watched closely.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As the Biden administration contemplates taking on important new security obligations in the region, it is imperative to honor the promises the U.S. has already made.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtoninstitute.org\/experts\/david-schenker\"><em>David\u00a0Schenker<\/em><\/a><em>\u202fis a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. From June 2019 to January 2021, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Follow him on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>\u202f<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidschenker1?lang=en\"><em>@davidschenker1<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/international\/4194217-us-support-for-morocco-is-no-mistake-biden-should-reaffirm-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Weeks before Joe Biden was inaugurated president in January 2021, while serving as assistant secretary for Near East affairs, I traveled to the Western Sahara. A little more than a month earlier, President Trump had\u00a0recognized Moroccan sovereignty\u00a0over the disputed territory and pledged to establish a consulate in the region to encourage Morocco to normalize relations&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":590487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/09\/morocco_israel_07172023_AP_AP23198721856298.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,134343,70363,134353,86421,4941,134661,991,145676,145677,141939,139901],"class_list":["post-590486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-campaign","tag-civil-rights","tag-court-battles","tag-criminal-justice","tag-donald-trump","tag-energy-environment","tag-joe-biden","tag-morocco-conflict-in-western-sahara","tag-politics-of-the-middle-east","tag-politics-of-the-united-states","tag-us-israel-relations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}