MOROCCO: U.S. Defense Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld arrives in Rabat the last stop in his tour which included Tunisia and Algeria

Record ID: 184720

  • Title: MOROCCO: U.S. Defense Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld arrives in Rabat the last stop in his tour which included Tunisia and Algeria
  • Date: 13th February 2006
  • Summary: WIDE SHOT OF AEROPLANE CARRYING U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY DONALD RUMSFELD TAXING AT RUNWAY; SIDE OF PLANE SAYING "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA"
  • Embargoed: 28th February 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Morocco
  • Country: Morocco
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA3S4I1O3MHXN00G3YH6WXSFZVK
  • Story Text: U.S. Defense Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Rabat on Sunday (February 12, 2006), the last stop in his tour which included Tunisia and Algeria.
    He arrived after a 5-1/2 hour visit to Algeria which was part of a three-day, three-nation tour designed to show U.S. support for moderate North African countries amid worries about Islamic extremism.
    Earlier on Sunday, Rumsfeld met Algerian President Abdulaziz Bouteflika for 95 minutes and later said at a news conference that Washington intended to deepen its military and counter-terrorism ties with Algeria, but avoided saying whether this was dependent on Algerian political reforms.
    The United States and Algeria, the second biggest country in Africa, began military exchanges last year as Washington sought backing for its campaign against global terrorism.
    The United States regards the three countries Rumsfeld is visiting as moderate forces in the region and important allies.
    Algeria and neighbouring Morocco have much history and cultural heritage in common but have had tense relations, particularly over Western Sahara.
    Morocco, which annexed Western Sahara in 1975 when former colonial power Spain pulled out, fought a guerrilla war with the Polisario Front which is based in southwestern Algeria and is seeking the desert territory's independence.
    A senior U.S. defence official travelling with Rumsfeld said the United States was trying to encourage regional cooperation between Algeria and Morocco, as well as Tunisia, but the Western Sahara dispute was a stumbling block.
    The Pentagon also acknowledged that it is a delicate task for the United States to develop a relationship with Algeria without unnerving Morocco.
    The official said the United States was considering the possibility of military equipment sales to Algeria, but gave no details beyond saying these might involve equipment useful for counter-terrorism.
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