Algeria, Morocco will open borders, after 18 years, to fight Al Qaida

Algeria, Morocco will open borders, after 18 years, to fight Al Qaida

Special to WorldTribune.com CAIRO — Algeria and Morocco have been preparing to open their borders after nearly 20 years of tension. Officials said Algeria and Morocco have agreed in principle to open their borders as part of renewed security cooperation. They said Morocco, after more than a decade of efforts, has persuaded Algeria to conduct […]

Moroccan king bows to military protests, pledges salary boosts, reforms

Moroccan king bows to military protests, pledges salary boosts, reforms

Special to WorldTribune.com CAIRO — King Mohammed has pledged to improve conditions in Morocco’s military after protests which included suicides. Mohammed told the new Islamist-led Cabinet that he would increase pensions and salaries for retired and serving military personnel. The king said the new policy would also grant legal and other rights to soldiers and […]

U.S., Morocco plans fifth ‘African Lion’ exercise

U.S., Morocco plans fifth ‘African Lion’ exercise

Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — The United States is organizing a military conference in Morocco. U.S. African Command has been planning the final details for African Lion 12 in Morocco. Officials said the annual security cooperation exercise, comprised of 1,200 U.S. Marine Corps soldiers and 900 Moroccan soldiers, would take place at several locations in […]

Algeria, Morocco end ‘cold war’, agree to open borders

Algeria, Morocco end ‘cold war’, agree to open borders

Special to WorldTribune.com CAIRO — Algeria and Morocco have agreed to re-open their borders, closed since 1994. Diplomats said the governments in Algiers and Rabat have agreed in principle to re-open their mutual border as part of an effort to achieve reconciliation. They said the border re-opening reflected a recognition by Algeria that it required […]

Moroccan military’s purchase of F-16s marks shift from French platforms

Moroccan military’s purchase of F-16s marks shift from French platforms

Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — Morocco, in a drive toward diversification, has sought U.S. military equipment, a report said. The Congressional Research Service asserted that Morocco was moving from a French-origin military to that which would include U.S. fighter-jets. “The sale of F-16s has drawn particular attention in the region, where Algeria — reportedly the […]

Morocco seeks investors for oil, gas development

Special to WorldTribune.com CAIRO — Morocco is seeking investors to develop energy blocks. Officials said the North African kingdom has identified 22 crude oil and natural gas blocks for development. They said potential investors were briefed on the blocks, 13 of them offshore. “The efforts are in the early stage and no tenders have been […]

N. African states take down major narcoterror drug network

N. African states take down major narcoterror drug network

Special to WorldTribune.com CAIRO — North African states have stepped up security coordination. Officials said Algeria has achieved results in efforts to increase regional security coordination. They said Algiers was overseeing increased cooperation with such neighboring countries as Mali and Mauritania. “Our efforts over the past two years are beginning to pay off,” an Algerian […]

Moroccan king maintains control over new Islamist government

Moroccan king maintains control over new Islamist government

Special to WorldTribune.com CAIRO — King Mohammed has tightened his grip on the new Islamist government in Morocco. Western diplomats and analysts said the king has ensured that all of the defense, security and financial portfolios in the new Cabinet of Islamist Prime Minister Abdul Ilah Benkirane would remain with royalists. They included the Defense […]

Eight strategic factors bearing on 2012, the year of ‘Great Power Impotence’

Eight strategic factors bearing on 2012, the year of ‘Great Power Impotence’

Special to WorldTribune.com By Gregory Copley and Yossef Bodansky, Global Information System Rarely in the past six decades has global context counted for as much in strategic forecasting trend analysis as it does at the dawn of 2012. Reliance on stove-piped analysis of strategic sectors such as economic and financial issues, security issues, politics, geopolitics, […]

Wealthy Gulf states balk at accepting Jordan, Morocco

Special to WorldTribune.com ABU DHABI — The Gulf Cooperation Council has failed to approve membership applications for Jordan and Morocco. Officials acknowledged that the GCC was divided over whether to admit Jordan and Morocco amid rising tension with neighboring Iran. They said several of the six GCC members, including the United Arab Emirates, determined that […]