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The Makings of the U.S. Recognition of the Moroccan Sahara

(Israel Hayom) Dore Gold - The security challenges that the Moroccans face primarily emanate from the area of the former Spanish colony of the Western Sahara, where an insurgency campaign is being waged by guerrillas from the Polisario front against the Moroccan security forces, with the support of Algeria. Morocco had valid claims to this disputed territory; many tribes in the area had been historically linked to the Moroccan monarchy. It was clear that the Polisario, far from being a national liberation movement deserving global backing, were emerging as an organization linked to the terrorist network Iran had established across the Middle East and Africa. The Western powers did not have to send their air forces to North Africa, but they could deny the Polisario their diplomatic goals. After Syria hosted Iranian proxy forces in large numbers, the U.S. issued a proclamation in March 2019 recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. After the Polisario decided to work with Iran, an equivalent move of recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara made perfect sense. It was a strategy that was working. Already Bahrain, Jordan, and the UAE all had spoken about opening up consulates on the territory of the Western Sahara. South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, distanced his country from Polisario claims. This was significant given the fact that South Africa, besides being the most powerful country in Africa, also held the presidency of the African Union. If the U.S. wished to reinforce political moderation across the region and weaken the axis of extremism, then reinforcing Morocco's position on the Sahara issue was a wise approach to follow. The writer, former director-general of the Israel Foreign Ministry and ambassador to the UN, is president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
2021-01-04 00:00:00
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