Cooperation

Further promoting the Israeli-Moroccan partnership — made possible by the Abraham Accords — would allow the United States to multiply its strategic ...

These steps will not only allow Israel and Morocco to lead the way for a partner-led regional security strategy, but they will also create the stable geopolitical space necessary to unlock the potential of Israeli-Moroccan partnership in critical technological and financial domains. In 2015, he was a participant in the Jewish Institute for National Security of America’s Generals and Admirals Program. Samuel B. Millner is a policy analyst at JINSA. Renewed strategic competition and the proliferation of violent extremist organizations threaten to undermine the integrity of African states and key U.S. strategic interests. Most immediately, this entails equipping Morocco to overcome the menace of Russian and Iranian destabilization via Algeria, including fulfilling pending sales of precision-guided munitions and MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones. Morocco has also long stood out among the Islamic and African nations as a leader in counterterrorism, especially within the U.S.-led war on terror. By crowding out Chinese investments, an extension of Chinese military power, Morocco is helping to roll back China’s implicit challenge to U.S. security interests and local autonomy in these areas. At the sub-state level, Africa has seen a historic rise in violent extremist activity, destabilizing local African countries and creating openings for encroachment by U.S. competitors. The United States should provide more opportunities for these two partner militaries to train side by side. Finally, the United States should help boost Morocco’s military-industrial capability. Likewise, the partnership itself is contingent on the U.S. respecting its commitments vis-a-vis the Western Sahara, which undergirded the 2020 Israel-Morocco normalization agreement. Last month, U.S. Africa Command hosted its premier multilateral exercise, African Lion 22, involving 7,500 coalition forces from 10 nations across the Maghreb and West Africa. This year, beyond the usual roars of Moroccan and Senegalese lions, USAFRICOM’s foremost exercise was augmented by those of another pride: Israeli lions. Meanwhile, Russian mercenaries are driving civil conflicts and military juntas across the continent.