Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981–1988, Volume XXIV, North Africa

59. Information Memorandum From the Acting Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (McNeil) to Acting Secretary of State Whitehead¹

Washington, August 30, 1985

SUBJECT

• Morocco and Algeria: Sources of Tension—Chances of Change

You discussed with Mort the fact that Morocco was in part motivated in its Libyan union by a desire to check Algeria and Algerian aid to the Polisario.² We have looked at the Moroccan-Algerian relationship to examine the prospects of a cooling of tensions in the Sahara dispute and an improvement in overall relations between Morocco and Algeria. A thorough analysis is attached,³ summarized by this memorandum.

• The Border. Before the French relinquished their protectorate over Morocco in the mid-1950’s, they readjusted the border in Algeria’s favor. In 1962, the Moroccans wanted redress from newly independent Algeria. In its absence, a border war ensued in 1963. The Moroccan parliament has never ratified a subsequent treaty fixing the common boundary.

• The Saharan War. Algeria provides most of the weapons and funding for the Polisario guerrillas seeking to wrest control of the Sahara from Morocco. The Moroccans view the conflict as a military engagement with Algeria by proxy. The Algerians may well regard their support for the Polisario as an element in containing the “expansionist” Moroccans.

• Economic and Social Disparities. Morocco has a traditional social structure, a mixed economy with a broad private sector, and a varied press. Algeria stands in marked contrast. After independence, Algeria became a leftist-oriented state in which the government controlled both the economy and the press. Despite some preliminary moves toward reform, Algeria remains a one-party socialist state, uncomfortable with Western pluralism.

• Prospects for Reducing the Tensions. Morocco and Algeria have kept their rivalry within bounds for 20 years, but the fundamental differences between the two could be difficult to resolve. Some benefits to the US in North Africa may derive from the enduring Moroccan-Algerian friction, so long as it does not get out of hand. We might sharpen our assessments of the potential for a major confrontation through exchanges with the Spanish and French, whose long association with the region gives them considerable insight.

1. Source: Department of State, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Records of Assistant Secretary of State Richard Murphy, 1985: Lot 87D431, Memos, AFN, August 1985. Secret; Sensitive. Drafted by Otto on August 23; approved by Richard Clarke (INR). Quinn initialed the memorandum and wrote: “8/30.”
2. No record of the Abramowitz-Whitehead discussion has been found.
3. The undated paper, entitled “Longstanding Differences Between Morocco and Algeria,” is attached but not printed.