Elliott Abrams
Near the very end of President Trump’s administration, the United States recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara. That move elicited loud protests, most notably from James Baker, John Bolton, and Senator James Inhofe (R., Okla.). For reasons that are not persuasive, all three have long opposed Morocco’s territorial claims and have favored a process likely to weaken the kingdom, an important U.S. ally in a dangerous region. Moreover, their proposals might hand the territory over to the Polisario, a Cold War remnant organization that cannot reasonably be expected to play Morocco’s role in the struggle against terrorism and extremism.
The announcement by the White House states that
the United States affirms, as stated by previous Administrations, its support for Morocco’s autonomy proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute over the Western Sahara territory. Therefore, as of today, the United States recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara territory and reaffirms its support for Morocco’s serious, credible, and realistic autonomy proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute over the Western Sahara territory. The United States believes that an independent Sahrawi State is not a realistic option for resolving the conflict and that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution. We urge the parties to engage in discussions without delay, using Morocco’s autonomy plan as the only framework to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution.
Note the ingredients: (1) Previous administrations have supported the formula of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty; (2) it is the only realistic formula; (3) negotiations should begin.
Left unstated is the additional factor that I mentioned above: Deliberately destabilizing Morocco would be a senseless policy for the United States.
The objections by former secretary of state Baker and former national-security adviser Bolton are essentially that the Trump administration’s decision overturned decades of U.S. policy and international law. Mr. Baker, who also served as the U.N. special envoy for the Western Sahara, called it “an astounding retreat from the principles of international law and diplomacy that the United States has espoused and respected for many years” and said it was “a major and unfortunate change in long-standing U.S. policy under both Democrat and Republican administrations.” That policy, he said, “has always taken a more or less neutral stance in support of the efforts by the United Nations to determine the future of that territory and its people, in a way that supports the principle of self-determination.”
