ABSTRACT
After the national question of Western Sahara and Morocco’s privileged partnership with the European Union (EU) and some of its member states, the third priority that has determined Moroccan foreign policy since independence is the country’s relationship with the United States. Indeed, Morocco has played the role of good ally and has been recognised as occupying a unique position as Washington’s oldest and most loyal partner in the Maghreb in a remarkably consistent way across different historical stages. This was the case during the Cold War and in the 1990s, when the U.S. took no more than a limited and circumstantial interest in this region, accepting it to be under primarily European influence, and remained so after the turn of the millennium. Not only has Morocco been overall the second highest Arab recipient of U.S. assistance (after Egypt) since it gained independence, but it also obtained military and logistical support from Washington which was vital in tipping the scales in its favour during the first years of the Western Sahara conflict, despite U.S. formal neutrality.
