Former American Secretary of State Colin Powell was astonished the day he was received by Moroccan Monarch King Mohammed VI in Marrakech with the following remark: "I had hoped to see you starting your tour to the region in Jerusalem." The Middle East was ablaze and Powell, like the remaining American officials, recalled the logic of blatant frankness in the Moroccan monarch's statements. More than a decade later, Americans and Moroccans expect the summit - which will bring together the Moroccan monarch and American President Barack Obama in Washington next month - to feature a high level of frankness. This is especially due to the fact that the summit is being held following a crisis that affected the relations between the two countries, against the backdrop of an American proposal to expand MINURSO's prerogatives in the Sahara to include the monitoring of the human rights situation. Despite the American retreat, the Sahara issue remains the cornerstone of Rabat's local and regional preoccupations. After the late King Hassan II wanted the West to treat his country as part of the Western system club, whose states he said acted as members of a club and not based on a political decision during the Cold War, his successor Mohammed VI wants greater support in favor of the autonomy plan, considering that it is based on the standards of the democratic management of the population's affairs. During his meeting with President Obama, he will take into account the American recipe that pushed in favor of wider cooperation at the level of the security challenges in the Sahel region west of the Sahara, the Syrian crisis, and the frozen negotiations in the Middle East. At the same time, he will rely on the American "gift" which made his country an observer member state of NATO, the widening of military cooperation between the two countries, the requirements of the Free Trade agreement, and the concerns affecting regional balances. And since the American administration does not wish to lose the friendship of its allies among the Arab states, it is invited to listen to the fears surrounding the horizons of these relationships. At this level, it is no coincidence that the Moroccan monarch will conduct his visit to Washington after a special visit to the state of Kuwait, as it is believed that Rabat – in light of its strategic partnership with the Gulf Cooperation Council states – will convey some of the concerns related to the situation in the region. Indeed, Morocco always supported the Emirati position in regard to the three islands, even severed its diplomatic ties with Tehran due to what it dubbed the interference in the internal affairs and attempts to undermine the stability of a number of Arab states. In addition, before his visit, the Moroccan monarch clearly announced he understood the Saudi rejection of its membership at the Security Council. And what is significant at the level of the latter position is that Rabat assumed responsibilities at the Security Council last year, and is consequently aware of the obstacles preventing the international organization from implementing its missions to enhance the foundations of peace and stability. On the other hand, the Moroccan monarch announced in his last speech that the Sahara issue was facing difficulties and that the situation had not yet been settled, which adds important dimensions to his upcoming talks with the officials at the White House and inside Congress, especially in terms of getting their take on the chances of a political resolution of the regional conflict that has been suffering stalemate for around four decades. As for the visit of American Secretary of State John Kerry to the region, it is understood as being a wish by Washington to learn about the details and backdrop of the existing tensions in light of the new facts, especially since UN Envoy Christopher Ross would have presented to the Security Council an exhaustive report about the outcome of his visit to the region. Still, the most important development resides in the connection established between the situation in the Sahel and the continuation of the Sahara conflict. At this level, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called for the quick defusing of the tensions, in order to block the way before the security mayhem threatening the entire region, at a time when American diplomat Ross considered that a possible détente in Moroccan-Algerian relations would constitute a positive sign for the hastening of the political solution and the normalization of the relations between the two neighboring countries. This package of intertwined issues will be the main focus of the Moroccan-American summit, while Rabat and Washington do not seem interested in looking back at disputes that almost ruined the climate of their traditional alliance. And when the Moroccan monarch proposed the idea of a Maghreb-African dialogue including the North African and Sahel states, he was not only addressing the Europeans whose concerns – especially Paris's – have increased in regard to the security situation, but also the Americans who became involved before Northern Mali fell in the hands of the rebels and the extremist Islamic organizations. In that sense, the support wanted by Morocco extends beyond the consolidation of what it perceives as rights in the Sahara region. Morocco wants a consensual initiative based on the autonomy formula, to reactivate the Maghreb Union and build a new axis between North Africa and its Southern extension. It is likely that the idea, which was met with European backing, will not be far away from Washington's preoccupations in the context of the arrangement of the situation in the region, by eliminating the gap between North Africa and the Middle East.
