Morocco
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Thursday the US will open a consulate in the “state” of Western Sahara.
Bold move cotton. It comes after Morocco, who lay claim to the vast swath of Western Sahara that lies to its south, officially normalized its economic and diplomatic ties to Israel. It joins Sudan, Bahrain and the UAE as the fourth Arab state to do so this year.
That agreement, like the others, was orchestrated by the Trump administration as part of his Abraham Accords, likely his greatest (and maybe only) significant foreign policy achievement. And as with the three that proceeded it, it didn’t come cheap. UAE got a sexy little $23 billion arms deal complete with some shiny new F-35s. Sudan was removed from the terror list. So Moroccans look under your seats! You’re going home with a brand new 102 square mile patch of desert complete with a beautiful coastline and rich with phosphate mines!
That big orange line dividing the territory (quite equally might I add) is a massive wall erected by Morocco in the 80s. The Berm, as its called, is made from sand but the nearly 1700 mile long structure puts Trump’s Great Fence of Mexico to shame. Only trailing China’s Great Wall its the second longest wall in the world and its jam-fucking-packed with artillery and soldiers numbering over 120,000.
It separates the left side of Moroccan occupied Sahara from the right side, home to the Sahrawis, a nomadic people indigenous to the land.
The Sahrawis have seen Morocco as occupiers ever since they marched Spain out of town in the 70s. The UN agrees. Up until recently, so did America. Now, as the country insists there is no violence, armed conflict rages on between Morocco and The Polisario Front, the political and military wing of Sahrawi.
While Morocco downplays the fighting, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a nation recognized by the African Union (which Morocco is a member to!!!!) is for all intents and porpoises 🐬 at war.
The Polisario claim Morocco broke their 29 year ceasfire in November, and have been committing acts of human rights violations against the Sahrawi (I know this is confusing but just to keep it simple Polisario = Sahrawi military)
Its hard to say who gets the blame for the renewed fisticuffs. The Sahrawis aren’t 100% innocent, they’ve been blocking Morocco’s trade routes into the rest of Africa and harassing UN aid workers who have tried to help. But then again they’re only doing so because they feel their sovereignty and dignity are being violated by Morocco. Oh and Morocco’s eastern neighbor/nemesis Algeria is helping fund and arm the Polisario because they have so many Sahwari refugees within their borders (more than those that actually live in Western Sahara) that they want them to have their own state outside of Algeria. Basically the situation was fucked enough BEFORE the U.S decided to use the desert as a Star of David embroidered trade chip.
And it would be easy to say, ah that’s just Donny blowing off some steam trying to bolster his resume on his way out, Biden will undo it. But that reality is far from a sure thing. Biden’s Office of the President Elect (completely made up office btw) has repeatedly declined to comment on the issue, and congressional Democrats have been just as silent. In fact, the few American voices to decry the move have been conservative including former Team Trump Ambassador John Bolton and Republican Senator Jim Imhofe.
No matter whose fault it is, an incoming Biden administration will be inheriting yet another overseas Arab conflict that America is intertwined in. Did Trump basically just trade away an entire culture’s claim to their ancestral homeland for an absolutely meaningless “normalization” of ties (Morocco and Israel had already been trading goods under the table for years)? Maybe. Did he sell billions of dollars in weapons and lift sanctions on other countries for an equally hollow reward that would have eventually manifested anyways, just to make himself look good before he leaves office? Doesn’t sound like him.
But pinning the future of the Sahrawis on “orange man bad” will likely be a fruitless endeavor. The UN and most other western countries have already condemned the move. But Biden, a DINO in more way than one, has surrounded himself with war-mongers and capitalists in a cabinet that looks like its trying its hardest not to take its day out on a minimum wage retail worker at Home Goods. Many of these career intelligence agency and government officials like Susan Rice and Antony Blinken (who has come out in support of Turkey over Syrian Kurds) come from the same vein of political plunderers and interventionist operators as Pompeo and others who vied for this move. It’s hard to imagine them siding with the Sahrawi, who have literally nothing, over Morocco, who can at least offer a semblance of peace in the region, y’know… once they finish conquering their desert.
I hope I’m wrong about this one and the Biden administration comes in and says “sorry Rocko, its great that you’re getting along with Izzy, but that sandbox ain’t yours! Give it back to those nice Sahwahwahs, C’MON!!” But something tells me that ain’t gon’ happen. Anyone care to wager?
