Sahara Dispute Limits Terror Fight

Townhall ^ | 4/13/07

[Valin]

With its endless expanse of desolate sands, the Western Sahara might not seem worth fighting over. But the thinly populated, Italy-sized region on Africa's northwest coast is at the heart of a three-decade-long dispute that, U.S. officials and analysts say, inhibits the fight against terrorism across North Africa.

Any doubts about the seriousness of the terrorist problem in the region were undercut by attacks in Morocco, on Tuesday and Saturday, and Algeria, on Wednesday. In the latest attack, two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Casablanca near an American cultural center.

The incidents followed expressions of interest by al-Qaida in expanding its activities in the area.

It is a region that offers relatively easy access to potential targets across the Mediterranean in Europe. Detection of Muslim militants can be difficult in North Africa, with its undulating deserts and majestic mountains.

For three decades Morocco and Algeria have been divided over the phosphate-rich Western Sahara. Morocco claims sovereignty in the territory. Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front rebels, who are based in Algeria, a short distance from the Western Saharan border.

The United States believes resolving the conflict could be a catalyst for improved counterterror cooperation throughout North Africa and for a free trade agreement that would promote economic growth and reduce the appeal of terrorist groups for unemployed youth.

"The United States remains concerned that that Western Sahara is a primary stumbling block for regional cooperation and development goals for the region," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.

"We look forward to realistic and workable solutions that bring peace, stability and economic prosperity" to the region that encompasses Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

Jonathan Alterman, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says Algerian-Moroccan counterterrorism cooperation is too limited. "There is no question they could cooperate more. It seems to me that the benefits of resolving the (Western Sahara) issue are obvious," he says.

An internal report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, leaked in October, criticized Morocco for not giving Western Saharans the right to determine their future.

It accused Morocco of abusing the rights of pro-independence activists and using excessive force on them. Morocco said the report failed to take into account Polisario rights violations.

Of particular concern to the U.S. is the Algerian-based Salafist Group for Call and Combat. A year ago, the State Department's then-counterterrorism chief, Henry Crumpton, told a conference in Algeria that the group had become a "regional terrorist organization," and had forged links with militant groups in North Africa and beyond.

Months after Crumpton spoke, the group established formal ties with al-Qaida and later staged a series of seven near-simultaneous bombings in the Kabylie region of Algeria, killing six and wounding 30. In January, Tunisia announced that it had killed 12 and arrested 15 extremists who, it said, had crossed the border from Algeria.

Two suicide bombings in Algiers on Wednesday killed 33 people and wounded more than 200. Among the targets was the main government building in the capital.

The day before, in the Moroccan coastal city of Casablanca, suicide bombers killed one policeman and wounded 10 people.

Saturday's attack in Casablanca injured one woman. Police arrested a man wearing an explosive belt and two other suspects in the neighborhood, which is also home to the American Consulate and a synagogue, an Interior Ministry official said.

A cease-fire between Morocco and the Polisario has been in effect since 1991. It is monitored by a 230-member U.N. peacekeeping force whose mandate ends April 30.

The U.S. has pushed for a settlement in Western Sahara, but compromise does not come easy. James A. Baker, the former secretary of state, tried for seven years to broker a settlement on behalf of the United Nations but gave up in 2004.

Morocco presented an autonomy plan to the United Nations on Thursday that would permit the election of a parliament and create a regional government in Western Sahara to oversee day-to-day affairs. But sovereignty would remain with the Moroccan government in Rabat.

In a new sign of flexibility, Morocco indicated a willingness to negotiate details of the plan with the Polisario rebels.

Days before the shift in the Moroccan position, Polisario leaders had urged an independence referendum and offered to forge a "special relationship" with Morocco should it lead to a sovereign state for the Saharawis, as the people of Western Sahara are known.

The Bush administration made clear its view to Moroccan officials this past week that the Polisario interests must be taken into account if lasting peace is to be achieved.

Overall, Morocco is one of the United States' closest allies among the Arabs. The Polisario's closest ally is Cuba, but it has strong diplomatic support among other developing countries, particularly in Africa.