While the Middle East proper has tended to grab most of the attention in the U.S. media as well as from official Washington, it is important to point out every now and then that the Maghreb matters.
Indeed, the United States has a long history of involvement in North Africa, and among the most memorable is the dispatch of U.S. Marines "to the shores of Tripoli," in 1798 to eradicate the threat from Barbary Coast pirates.
More than 200 years later the Maghreb - comprising from a historical perspective, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia - remains all important to the national interest of the United States for a multitude of reasons.
First, by the crucial piece of real estate on which it finds itself, strategically positioned between Europe and Africa and between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The Maghreb is the gateway through which much of the human traffic between Africa and Europe transits today. It is the portal to the Levant and the Arab world.
More recently the Maghreb has played a more prominent role in East-West relations due to the increasing role that takfiri terrorism is playing in the region.
Algeria and to a far lesser extent, Morocco were hard hit by waves of terror attacks carried out by AQIM, al-Qaida in the Maghreb.
Yet, it's almost as though the entire Maghreb fell between the cracks of U.S. foreign policy in recent years with the focus and energy of successive administrations being placed on the Near Middle East on the one hand and on Africa on the other.
Perhaps because of North Africa's historic ties to Europe, particularly France, the United States has traditionally tended to view the Maghreb as more of a "European responsibility," as a report released March 31 by the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in conjunction with the Conflict Management Program at the Johns Hopkins University reminds us.
Of the five Maghreb countries, all but one were associated with France. Mauritania was a colony, Morocco and Tunisia were protectorates and Algeria was considered to be an integral part of France (two departments) with representatives in the National Assembly in Paris. Libya was occupied by the Italians when the Ottoman Turks left in 1911.
Regardless of European interests and/or responsibilities in the Maghreb, the United States cannot "“ in its own national interests "“ continue to ignore the region.
The United States, the report points out, should focus on developing and promoting stability and security in each country and enhancing prospects for greater political freedoms and broader economic growth.
The Maghreb has its share of problems cut out for it. Aside from rampant unemployment among the young, many of whom aspire to leave for France, Italy or Spain, creating a devastating brain drain, the Maghreb is faced with serious threats from takfiri groups. Terrorist attacks since 2001 have leapt by a staggering 400 percent. Consider that in 2001 while there were "only 21" incidents, according to the National Counterterrorism Information Center and the Lawson Terrorism Information Center, "that number shot up exponentially to 104 attacks in 2007.
The issue of terrorism aside, it remains vital to the economic and development of the region's future to promote inter-Maghrebi cooperation, trade and unity. With some foresight the leaders of the region should seriously look into launching a 'Benelux' type model that would permit the five countries to excel from trade, business, education and even defense.
The framework for such a model already exists. In 1989 the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) was created. However, it was frozen in 1994 as a result of diverging political views between Morocco and Algeria over the Western Sahara, a disputed territory formerly known as the Spanish Sahara. Morocco claimed the former Spanish colony as belonging to it, a move disputed by many, including the Polisario Front, a group that has been fighting for its independence for several decades.
Based in neighboring Algeria, the Polisario has been at the core of tense relations between the Algerians and the Moroccans.
Among those advocating for the U.S. Barack Obama administration to "look around the corner," (as President Obama advocated), are former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Gen. Wesley Clark, a retired four-star general, NATO Supreme Allied Commander and a one-time contender for the U.S. presidency.
Additionally, the countries concerned need to give greater attention to regional stability and popular participation. The report states that "unless socio-economic development is accelerated and job creation produced in greater quantities," attempts to keep the youth "off the road of alienation, desperation, emigration and al-Qaida terrorism" would be futile.
Finally, the report stresses the need to resolve the conflict over the Western Sahara, which it says is "the key to the door of regional cooperation." True words, indeed; a key can open doors, but it can also lock them. var dc_AdLinkColor = 'blue' ; var dc_PublisherID = 81548 ; var dc_open_new_win = 'yes'; adsonar_placementId=1431408;adsonar_pid=1459767;adsonar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=540;adsonar_zh=150;adsonar_jv='ads.adsonar.com'; To add a comment,Please log in:
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