During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on countering terrorism in North Africa, Republican Senator Ted Cruz pressed officials to clarify whether U.S. references to terrorist threats in the Sahel were aimed at the Polisario Front. The responses, however, were described by as «evasive» in an otherwise heated session.
Could Algeria persuade the Polisario Front to soften its stance on the Western Sahara issue? That's the suggestion put forward by an American think tank closely aligned with Israel, yet sympathetic to Algeria’s interests in the United States.
The Trump administration is making a renewed push to resolve the Western Sahara issue, but its efforts are currently facing resistance from Algeria. In its opposition, Algeria is leveraging its rare earth minerals and a draft law aimed at regulating oil exploration. Here's what’s at stake.