Despite its low profile, Algeria is an important strategic relationship for the United States. Libya, with which it shares a long border, has descended into chaos. Mali, Algeria’s southern neighbor, nearly fell last year to Islamist rebels before French intervention saved the country. Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries with a meager military, is also struggling to counter emerging threats in the Sahara and has asked the international community for support. Even Tunisia, which has otherwise been the Arab Spring’s lone success story, is facing a new terrorist threat in the mountainous western borderlands.
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