American officials, including Secretary of State Ms. Condoleezza Rice and Steve Hadley, advisor of President George W. Bush to the national security, expressed the same interest, during the various meetings held with Moroccan officials who visited the U.S. capital during the current year. The U.S. State Department announced that Washington encourages the Moroccan proposal to grant autonomy to the Sahara, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Mohamed Benaissa, following his talks in Washington last May with Ms. Rice, said "The United States is interested in enlarged autonomy "in the southern regions.
The same interest was expressed to the members of the ministerial delegation dispatched by His Majesty to Washington last October, where they met with Ms. Rice, in the presence of Mr. Steve Hadley, and David Walsh, Deputy Secretary of State in charge of the Middle East. In addition, the U.S. officials and members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, expressed "understanding" of autonomy, during the meetings with a delegation from the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs, during the visit by the delegation of the United States last fall.
The President of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs, Mr. Khalihenna Ould Errachid praised the "very positive" results of contacts and talks with American officials and members of Congress in Washington. During these talks described by Mr. Ould Errachid as "friendly" and "explicit", many officials and members of Congress expressed admiration of the proposal of autonomy proposed by His Majesty the King, pointing out that this proposal conforms with the principles of democracy universally recognized and "substantial contribution" in the settlement of the Sahara issue.
More than a hundred members, who sent a message at the beginning of the current year in this direction to Ms. Rice, pointed out the need to settle the Sahara issue and empower the inhabitants of the south of the self-rule mechanism in the strict respect of Morocco's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Members of Congress, who praised the " model development " achieved by Morocco in the light of the ongoing reforms in the political, social and economic fields under leadership of His Majesty, "We should not allow that this long-standing issue threatens the region's stability, security and development achieved by Morocco, one of the most confident, historic and most closer allies to the United States. "
The U.S. lawmakers said that "the success of the ongoing efforts undertaken by Morocco is important not only for the Kingdom, but also for the United States and for our long-term strategic interests in the region."
If officials and members of Congress pay attention to the Sahara issue, the American public is not far away from it. During the various visits by delegations of Saharan citizens to the United States to sensitize public opinion on the tragedy of the population held in Tindouf (southwestern Algeria), many Americans attend these meetings to view the reality of this human tragedy, listen to the victims and express solidarity with the people detained in the camps against their will suffering humiliation and shame.
The participants in these various meetings said they pay particular attention to the suffering of the population of detainees and adopt their cause; they are commited to work for the reunification of families so that they can return to Morocco.
The Moroccan community residing the United States also assume the responsibility to defend the territorial integrity of the Kingdom and take all occasions to inform the American public about the reality of the Sahara conflict and the legitimacy of the national positions of Morocco, in addition to the efforts and proposals by Morocco to find a way out of a long-standing conflict that is an impediment to building the Maghreb.