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US To Build A Military Base In Morocco Stoking Tension With Algeria

As the new Cold War era rages on, the US government is seeking to set up a military ‘defense industrial base’ inside Morocco. This comes as concerns are raised about Moscow’s growing influence in Africa, however, the move could end up instigating further troubles between Morocco and neighboring Algeria, pitting the two-sides against each other.

Earlier this month news emerged that US President Joe Biden had instructed his Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, to prepare an emergency plan to establish an American base inside the Kingdom of Morocco. The plan was reportedly discussed in December, during a number of meetings which sought to outline Washington’s new global military strategy. According to some reports, the decision of the US President came after he was briefed on a report that came from CIA director, William Burns, that suggested Moscow is deeply intrenched in Algeria, not only through its military and diplomatic support, but also that Russia may be considering establishing its own logistical base in southern Algeria. The CIA apparently says that Russia’s cooperation with Algiers “will threaten the interests of Washington and its allies there.”

This move comes at a time when relations between Rabat and Algiers are at an all time low, with both sides severing ties. Algeria made the move to cut ties with the Kingdom of Morocco due in part to heavy Israeli influence, which Algiers fears may threaten their nation’s security, it also alleges that Kabylie separatist groups, that are fighting against Algeria, are receiving backing from both Rabat and Tel Aviv. If the claims about separatist groups being backed by Morocco are true, it may be a strategy that is being implemented from the Moroccan side to retaliate for Algeria’s backing of the Polisario Front. Polisario is the national liberation movement of the Sahrawi people, who are the indigenous inhabitants of Western Sahara, a territory that was de-facto annexed by Morocco. The conflict between Polisario and Morocco had been in a state of ceasefire for almost 30 years, when in November of 2020 the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, declared a resumption of hostilities.

The resumption of a state of war between the Sahrawi liberation movement and Morocco, was for the most part triggered by the change in stances by first the United Arab Emirates, then the United States government. The UAE made a 180-degree turn in its stance on the issue, proceeding what would later emerge as the Moroccan-Israeli normalization deal, which the US partly achieved by bribing Rabat with a pledge to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, breaking from the unanimously held position of the international community. There is good reason to believe that the Polisario front was motivated to end the ceasefire upon receiving news of the normalization deal’s terms, although there is no official statement or document to prove this.

2022 proved to be a major game-changer for not only the feud between Morocco and Algeria, but also for the economy of a previously suffering Algiers. The war in Ukraine dramatically impacted the flow of oil to Europe, which due to the EU’s sanctions on Russia, were searching for new suppliers. Resource rich Algeria proved to be one of those replacements, in the first five months of 2022 alone Algiers saw a 70% increase in oil and gas earnings. Algiers deepened ties with Italy, becoming its number one gas supplier, and suddenly France, which had for years attempted to isolate and insult Algeria, began knocking at the door for a gas deal.

Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune granted recognition to President Kais Said of Tunisia, who had controversially seized power of the country in October of 2019 and is facing legitimacy problems. Money strapped Tunis depends on Algeria’s gas supplies, which Algiers has set at a low price in order to form close ties between the two nations. Algeria has to play a careful balancing act with Tunisia, as it fears that the UAE influence exerted over President Kais Said could be detrimental to its own national interests. Interestingly, the Algerian influence seems to be working, as the Tunisian leader invited the leader of the Polisario Front to Tunis during the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, that was hosted in Tunisia last August. The invitation handed to the leader of Polisario caused Morocco to withdraw its ambassador from Tunis, which Tunisia responded against in kind.

Morocco interestingly came under fire recently by the European Union, whose parliament voted on a non-binding resolution that called on Rabat to respect press freedoms inside the Kingdom. The Moroccan parliament responded by voting unanimously to review their ties with the EU. For around 30 years there has been no such questioning of Moroccan policies, which is why the timing of this resolution by the EU parliament is interesting. It would seem, as Morocco is interpreting the move, that Paris may be behind the pressure that is being placed on Rabat, as France is looking for inroads with which to impress Algiers. So far, no formal agreements have been signed between France and Algeria, however, Morocco is suspicious that this may be in the books in the near future.

Then we have the United States government and its current role in stoking tensions between the two north African nations. Besides having facilitated a renewal of tensions over the Western Sahara issue and continuing to facilitate the furthering of ties between Israel and Morocco, which is actively being worked upon with the so-called “Negev Summit” meetings, the US is directly looking to meddle in the African continent as a whole in order to combat the rising role of Russia there. Algiers’ strong military and diplomatic ties with Moscow have been the cause of US ire since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The US government had urged Algeria to take a strong stance against its ally Russia, over its invasion of Ukraine, which it has refused to do. This ended up causing various Republican senators and members of congress to press for sanctions to be applied to Algeria, and so a campaign was launched to pressure the US Biden administration to take action. When asked directly about administering sanctions, the American ambassador to Algeria, Elizabeth Moore Aubin, avoided giving any direct answer.

The US military first began to explore the possibility of opening a military base in Morocco back in 2021, during the ‘African Lion‘ military maneuver to assess the country’s capacity as a “strategic base for Africa“. The US military began carrying out assessments back then in five airbases across Moroccan controlled territory, one of which was in Western Sahara. With the latest order from the US President, it looks like the planning for a base has reached the time for its implementation. With the opening of a US defense industrial base it will likely include setting up facilities for research, manufacturing, advancements, and improvements in various subsystems and components within the military industrial complex to meet the needs of regional U.S. military power. This will represent a significant step in attempting to combat Russia’s presence in Northern Africa, but will also serve as a means of pressure on Algeria, where the CIA alleges Moscow plans to set up its own base. This scenario brings both North African countries back into line with their traditional allies during the Cold War and the consequences here could be dire.

Algeria has one of the most capable militaries in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region, while Morocco has a less powerful force, it is backed by the US and Israel. Additionally, having a US base on its soil will also put it in a more dominant position. Although it does not seem that war between the two sides will be immediate, it could happen at the blink of an eye over any number of potential provocations. Also, if Washington is not happy with Algeria to a sufficient level, there is a chance that the US government could hatch its own conspiracy to either topple or significantly pressure the Algerian government. Algiers is doing well at this time and as its oil and gas revenues grow, so does its budgets for military spending and infrastructure projects, amongst other things. However, if the US government decides that it doesn’t want to see Algeria making deals with Europe any longer, it may take any number of actions to pressure Algiers. The step of opening a military base on Moroccan soil is an escalatory one, which brings Rabat and Algiers closer to a potentially devastating conflict that nobody on either side wants to see.

Robert Inlakesh
Robert Inlakesh
Robert Inlakesh is a documentary filmmaker, journalist, writer, Middle-East analyst & news correspondent for The Last American Vagabond.
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