The United States Waits For Algeria’s Role To Cover The French Failure In The Region

US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper ended his official visit to Algeria and went to Morocco to continue his Maghreb tour, which began in Tunisia.

Esper was received in Algeria by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in the presence of Maj. Gen. Said Chengriha, Chief of Staff of the National People’s Army and the Director of the Office of the Presidency of the Republic, Noureddine Baghdad Daidj, and Maj. Gen. Mohamed Bouzit, Director General of Documentation and External Security at the Ministry of National Defense.

A statement of the Presidency of Republic said that the talks reviewed “bilateral relationships and prospects for strengthening them in many areas, and the two parties also discussed developments of the situation in Libya and the African Sahel region, and agreed on the need to follow up consultations and coordination to consolidate the security and peace in the region within the framework of respecting the unity and sovereignty of its countries”.

US Secretary of Defense said that the Libyan crisis and the situation in the southern neighbour, Mali and the Sahel region, were at the heart of his talks with President Tebboune, adding; “My meeting today with the president and members of the military went extremely well, there are several areas where we plan to increase our cooperation, in areas such as counterterrorism”.

US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said in a statement that Defense Secretary Dr Mark T. Esper discussed expanding military cooperation between the U.S. and Algeria with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in Algiers.

expressed during the meeting his support for expanding military relations with Algeria, adding: “The two parties discussed security throughout North Africa and the Sahel (region) and ways to enhance our military and diplomatic partnership”.

“The secretary thanked Tebboune for the longstanding relationship between the two nations and praised the nation for its leadership in promoting regional stability. He also thanked the president — who also serves as defence minister — for his hospitality”, it added.

“The two leaders discussed the security situation in North Africa and the Sahel, the way forward in Libya and the uncertainties in Mali. They also discussed the threats from violent extremist organizations in the region and beyond”.

“Esper particularly noted the discussions on how to improve U.S. military cooperation with the armed forces of Algeria. There are several areas where we plan to increase our cooperation, such as in counterterrorism. We look to improve our exercises and training together,” Esper said. “We also discussed other issues involving our militaries, which I am confident will increase our interoperability as well”.

Esper’s visit, the first by an American Defense Secretary since 2006, is part of a larger push to boost ties with Algeria, coming just days after the top general overseeing US military operations travelled to the country to meet with Algerian leadership.

The last US Defense Secretary was Donald Rumsfeld in 2006 when the former Republican President, George Walker Bush Jr. was U.S. President, and it came at a time when Algeria is moving towards revising its military doctrine in the proposed constitutional amendment, and that is through the authorization of the People’s National Army to carry out military missions outside the borders, within the framework of peace efforts decided by the United Nations.

According to observers, the United States, based on the changes Algeria is witnessing at the legislative level (the constitution), hopes to reach consensus on the security roles of Algeria in its regional environment, especially in the countries that were the subject of discussions between President Tebboune and the US Secretary of Defense, such as Libya, Mali and the Sahel.

The United States ’ endeavour to strengthen military cooperation with Algeria in North Africa and the Sahel region came after France’s failure, and behind it, the Europeans, to control security in Mali and its neighbours, despite the military force that Paris had been involved in since 2013, which began with Serval and ended with Barkhane operations, which are unable to reach any result until now.

Preparations for Esper’s visit were made with a visit by the commander of the American military force in Africa (AFRICOM), General Stephen J.Townsend, who leads a force of about 800 soldiers, and discussed with senior Algerian officials, and his visit culminated with a phrase in which he said that Washington “trusts Algeria as a committed partner in counterterrorism”.

Washington attaches great importance to the situation in Libya, as it is in contact with the activity of AFRICOM, but its rival Russia preceded it by strengthening its presence in eastern Libya by supporting the retired General Khalifa Haftar, which embarrassed the administration of President Donald Trump, who recently woke up while trying to catch up by working to take advantage of Algeria’s status as a country that has good relations with all political and tribal parties in the eastern neighbour.