This commentary was published in al-Hayat on 09/01/2011
The choice of the location here seems more significant than the event itself: The Tariq bin Ziad cell broken up by the Moroccan authorities, becomes an even greater danger when we learn that its advanced weapons, which included machine guns, pistols and rocket launchers, were discovered in the Amgala region of the Sahara, and not anywhere else.
Since the Sahara is closer to the Sahel region, which is being described as the “other Afghanistan,” and the cell members were linked to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, this is understandable. However, the choice of Amgala in particular, which saw the first military confrontation between Moroccan forces and the Algerian army, seems justified only as a way to draw the two neighbors into an escalation they both say they do not want, no matter how tense their political disputes have become.
With the exception of this confrontation, which took place three decades and a half ago, the Algerians have repeatedly said that they would not enter a war with Morocco over the Sahara. Meanwhile, the Moroccans have, as part of their military strategy, left a buffer zone east of the security wall in order to prevent any violation of Algerian borders in any possible pursuit of Polisario Front fighters.
In this context, Rabat and Algiers adopt the same rhetoric. However, the interpretation differs amid the obvious difference in viewpoints vis-à-vis the Sahara, and even in dealing with the growing phenomenon of terrorism. However, the scenario of storing terror weapons in the Amgala region in particular is both irritating, and serves as a warning bell of the danger looming over the two neighboring countries. Ironically, the resumption of the normalization of Moroccan-Algerian relations at the end of the 1980s took place in the aftermath of a swarm of locusts over the joint border area, just as terror seeks to find save havens in the same places. However, even locusts, which reflect an angry mother nature, are now reeling from indiscriminate terror attacks. Algeria’s battle to cement stability and confront security outbreaks domestically and in surrounding areas has also become Morocco’s battle, as it attempts to curb the growth of terror. However, the two countries are insular, to the point where each measures things in its own way. The petty disputes, which have overshadowed the huge challenges, can be relegated to their original small scope with a bit of wisdom and a lot of determination.
Meanwhile, the Europeans were infuriated and as a result, they forged an immediate alliance when their nationals were being kidnapped near the Sub-Saharan Sahel region. Any disputes over nationalities amongst them – over who is Spanish or French, or German – have faded away. A comprehensive perspective puts all of these nationalities into the category of European citizens, on whose lives a price cannot be put, and the guarantee of whose security and safety has no other consideration. So what has happened to us to make that dangers to the lives of people, whether Moroccan or Algerian, not generate the same level of European anxiety?
If a weapons cache meant to be used in a terror attack, such as the one found in Amgala, had been discovered in Europe, there would have been strong responses, concern and anxiety, which would necessitate coordination and consultation, and giving priority to security concerns that threaten national interests. Morocco is not being targeted alone, as rockets have also struck at prominent Algerian targets. And Mauritania will not be far from the repercussions of attacks already tried on its territory.
Amgala was once a psychological barrier between Morocco and Egypt, before the mediation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. However, today it has been put on the back burner, and its memory should be forgotten, just like a passing event that should not obscure the future. The countries of the Sahel are suffering from poverty, terror and harsh natural conditions, and they are looking toward their northern neighbors, and expect assistance. Most likely, this would see them gather around the table of joint security challenges, which are dominant today, and where European mediation has failed to impose partnership in confronting the dangers that are striking indiscriminately in political terms.
The choice of the location here seems more significant than the event itself: The Tariq bin Ziad cell broken up by the Moroccan authorities, becomes an even greater danger when we learn that its advanced weapons, which included machine guns, pistols and rocket launchers, were discovered in the Amgala region of the Sahara, and not anywhere else.
Since the Sahara is closer to the Sahel region, which is being described as the “other Afghanistan,” and the cell members were linked to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, this is understandable. However, the choice of Amgala in particular, which saw the first military confrontation between Moroccan forces and the Algerian army, seems justified only as a way to draw the two neighbors into an escalation they both say they do not want, no matter how tense their political disputes have become.
With the exception of this confrontation, which took place three decades and a half ago, the Algerians have repeatedly said that they would not enter a war with Morocco over the Sahara. Meanwhile, the Moroccans have, as part of their military strategy, left a buffer zone east of the security wall in order to prevent any violation of Algerian borders in any possible pursuit of Polisario Front fighters.
In this context, Rabat and Algiers adopt the same rhetoric. However, the interpretation differs amid the obvious difference in viewpoints vis-à-vis the Sahara, and even in dealing with the growing phenomenon of terrorism. However, the scenario of storing terror weapons in the Amgala region in particular is both irritating, and serves as a warning bell of the danger looming over the two neighboring countries. Ironically, the resumption of the normalization of Moroccan-Algerian relations at the end of the 1980s took place in the aftermath of a swarm of locusts over the joint border area, just as terror seeks to find save havens in the same places. However, even locusts, which reflect an angry mother nature, are now reeling from indiscriminate terror attacks. Algeria’s battle to cement stability and confront security outbreaks domestically and in surrounding areas has also become Morocco’s battle, as it attempts to curb the growth of terror. However, the two countries are insular, to the point where each measures things in its own way. The petty disputes, which have overshadowed the huge challenges, can be relegated to their original small scope with a bit of wisdom and a lot of determination.
Meanwhile, the Europeans were infuriated and as a result, they forged an immediate alliance when their nationals were being kidnapped near the Sub-Saharan Sahel region. Any disputes over nationalities amongst them – over who is Spanish or French, or German – have faded away. A comprehensive perspective puts all of these nationalities into the category of European citizens, on whose lives a price cannot be put, and the guarantee of whose security and safety has no other consideration. So what has happened to us to make that dangers to the lives of people, whether Moroccan or Algerian, not generate the same level of European anxiety?
If a weapons cache meant to be used in a terror attack, such as the one found in Amgala, had been discovered in Europe, there would have been strong responses, concern and anxiety, which would necessitate coordination and consultation, and giving priority to security concerns that threaten national interests. Morocco is not being targeted alone, as rockets have also struck at prominent Algerian targets. And Mauritania will not be far from the repercussions of attacks already tried on its territory.
Amgala was once a psychological barrier between Morocco and Egypt, before the mediation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. However, today it has been put on the back burner, and its memory should be forgotten, just like a passing event that should not obscure the future. The countries of the Sahel are suffering from poverty, terror and harsh natural conditions, and they are looking toward their northern neighbors, and expect assistance. Most likely, this would see them gather around the table of joint security challenges, which are dominant today, and where European mediation has failed to impose partnership in confronting the dangers that are striking indiscriminately in political terms.
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