WORLD> Middle East
|
WORLD> Middle East
|
|
Rice to visit Libya and North African allies
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-05 09:29 Several Algerian newspapers questioned whether Rice would press the government to allow US military bases in Algeria as part of a broader plan to fight cross-border terrorism. But a senior Algerian Foreign Ministry official said that and a rumored free-trade deal were "absolutely not at the top of the agenda." Most North African countries are former French colonies that have maintained strong ties with France, which earlier this year launched a European Union plan for a tighter partnership with countries south of the Mediterranean Sea. But North Africa also closely cooperates with the United States. American oil companies, for instance, take the great majority of Algeria's 2 million barrels-per day oil output. Still, people in Algeria -- as in much of the rest of the Arab world -- have grown increasingly wary of the United States under the two terms of President George W. Bush. The invasion of Iraq, the handling of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis and the detentions at Guantanamo Bay prison have left many Arabs feeling they have become targets of American policies. "Polls show that there's a great deal of anger in the region against the Bush administration," said Anthony Cordesman, an analyst at the Washington-based Center for International and Strategic Studies. Several former US detainees have filed lawsuits on grounds the CIA illegally took them to countries like Morocco, where they say they were tortured. Islamists lambast their governments for this coziness with the White House. In Algeria, al-Qaida messages have repeatedly stated the government was "apostate," or a traitor to Islam, in part because of its pro-American stance. In Tunisia, some hoped that US regional influence could promote general reforms. "I hope the secretary of state will appeal ... for more determined political reforms," said Rachid Khechana, the editor of an independent weekly magazine. Among regional states, Morocco is particularly close to the United States, from which it recently bought a large shipment of F-16 fighter jets. Despite the friendship, Lahcen Haddad, a prominent Moroccan specialist, said Rice has kept the Maghreb "on the back burner." Other than reaffirming Washington's strategic anti-terror alliance, "Rice does not have too much to offer North African states," said Haddad. He views Washington's main diplomatic task here as rebuilding confidence with Arab public opinion. But it's now too late for Rice to work at restoring America's "reputation and credibility in North Africa," said Cordesman of CSIS. "These problems are going to be a challenge for the next American president." |
