Morocco: Current Issues
Carol Migdalovitz
Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
June 29, 2009
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RS21579
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress

Morocco: Current Issues

Summary
The United States government views Morocco as a moderate Arab regime, an ally against
terrorism, and a free trade partner. King Mohammed VI retains supreme power but has taken
incremental liberalizing steps. Since 9/11, Moroccan expatriates have been implicated in
international terrorism, and Morocco has suffered terror attacks. Morocco takes a proactive
approach to countering terror, but some of its measures may be setting back progress in human
rights. Morocco’s foreign policy focuses largely on Europe, particularly France and Spain, and
the United States. In the Middle East, it supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict and has severed diplomatic relations with Iran for bilateral reasons. This report will be
updated as developments warrant. See also CRS Report RS21464, Morocco-U.S. Free Trade
Agreement
, by Raymond J. Ahearn and CRS Report RS20962, Western Sahara: Status of
Settlement Efforts
, by Carol Migdalovitz.
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Morocco: Current Issues

Contents
Government and Politics ............................................................................................................. 1
Terrorism .................................................................................................................................... 2
Counterterrorism......................................................................................................................... 3
Human Rights ............................................................................................................................. 3
Economy .................................................................................................................................... 4
Foreign Policy............................................................................................................................. 5
Western Sahara ..................................................................................................................... 5
Algeria.................................................................................................................................. 5
Europe .................................................................................................................................. 5
Middle East........................................................................................................................... 7
Relations with the United States .................................................................................................. 7

Figures
Figure 1. Map of Morocco........................................................................................................... 6

Tables
Table 1. U.S. Aid to Morocco ...................................................................................................... 8
Table 2. U.S. Trade with Morocco ............................................................................................... 8

Contacts
Author Contact Information ........................................................................................................ 8

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Morocco: Current Issues

Government and Politics
The Moroccan royal dynasty has ruled the country since 1649. The reigning king, Mohammed VI,
ascended to the throne in 1999. He is committed to building a democracy, but he remains the pre-
eminent state authority. The King chairs the Council of State that endorses all legislation before it
goes to parliament, appoints the prime minister and ministers of foreign affairs, interior, defense,
and Islamic Affairs, and approves other ministers. He sets the agenda of parliament in an annual
Speech from the Throne, dissolves parliament, calls elections, and rules by decree. The King also
has a “shadow government” of royal advisors and is head of the military. Reforms depend on the
King’s will, and he has undertaken several hallmark liberalizing initiatives.
The September 2002 election for the 325-seat Chamber of Representatives, a weak lower house
chosen by universal suffrage, was deemed the first free, fair, and transparent election ever held in
Morocco. The September 2007 election also met international standards, but only 37% of the
voters turned out and 19% cast blank ballots, reflecting widespread disillusionment with the
political process and popular understanding of the powerlessness of the legislature. Some 14
parties or alliances of parties and independents won seats. The nationalist Istiqlal (Independence)
Party, Morocco’s oldest party, placed first. Its Secretary-General, Abbas al Fassi, became Prime
Minister and formed a four-party coalition government with a 34-member cabinet, including an
unprecedented five women ministers. The moderate and well-organized Islamist Justice and
Development Party (PJD) had expected to win the election; it placed second and charged
irregularities, but accepted the legitimacy of the outcome. Some 23 parties and blocs plus
independents are represented in the current legislature. The 270-seat Chamber of Counselors, the
upper house, is elected indirectly by local councils, professional organizations, and labor unions.
In August 2008, Fouad Ali al Himma established the Party for Authenticity and Modernity
(PAM). Al Himma is a former classmate of King Mohammed VI and former deputy interior
minister. He was elected to parliament as an independent in 2007 and became chairman of its
Committee on Foreign, Defense, and Islamic Affairs. Al Himma has not assumed the leadership
of PAM, but he is deputy leader and considered the party’s de facto head. The September 2008,
PAM formed an parliamentary alliance with the National Rally of Independents (RNI) and it has
sought alliances with other parties long known as recipients of royal patronage. PAM’s goals
reportedly are to “rationalize” the political landscape by diminishing the number of parties,
encourage more participation in politics, and stand up to the PJD.1 Few were surprised by PAM’s
first place finish with 21.6% of the vote in the elections for seats on municipal councils on June
12, 2009, when PJD dropped to sixth place. Some politicians fear that PAM is a nascent state
party similar to those in Egypt and Tunisia that might be used to dominate politics.2 Moreover,
some observers predict that Al Himma will be the next prime minister.
The Islamist Al Adl wal Ihsan (Justice and Charity/JCO), officially banned as a political
movement, is the largest grassroots organization in the country and is led by Shaykh Abdessalem
Yassine. JCO called for a boycott of the 2007 election, arguing that participation was pointless

1 James Liddell, “Morocco: Modern Politics or Politics of Modernity?” Arab Reform Bulletin, Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, December 2008.
2 Socialist Union of Popular Forces politician Idriss Lashgar, quoted in Africa Research Bulletin, October 1-21, 2008,
p. 17714.
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without constitutional reform – ostensibly aimed at diminishing the role of the monarchy. PJD
and JCO condemn terrorism and compete for support.
Terrorism
The monarchy often asserted that its claimed descent from the Prophet Mohammed was a shield
against Islamist militancy. This belief has been shattered since September 11, 2001, as expatriate
Moroccans have been implicated in terrorism abroad, and Morocco has suffered from terrorism at
home. Morocco has tried to distance itself from its expatriates, blaming their experiences in exile
for their radicalization. German courts tried two Moroccans for aiding the 9/11 terrorists. A
Moroccan imam was “the spiritual father of the Hamburg cell” that helped execute and support
the 9/11 attacks; he founded the Salafiya Jihadiya (Reformist Holy War/”Jihadists”) movement.3
A French-Moroccan, Zacarias Moussaoui, was tried in the United States as the 20th hijacker for
9/11. Eighteen Moroccans allegedly linked to Al Qaeda in Afghanistan were detained at the U.S.
Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; three remain there.
Numerous small, isolated, tactically limited Salafi jihadist cells threaten Morocco. In 2002, the
Casablanca slum-based As-Sirat al-Mustaqim (The Straight Path) murdered locals who had
committed “impure acts” such as drinking alcohol. In 2003, a Jihadist spiritual leader, who had
fought in Afghanistan and praised the 9/11 attacks and Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was
convicted of inciting violence against Westerners.
In February 2003, Bin Laden listed Morocco among the “oppressive, unjust, apostate ruling
governments” “enslaved by America” and, therefore, “most eligible for liberation.”4 To some
observers, this fatwa or religious edict appeared to trigger attacks in Morocco on May 16, 2003,
in which 14 suicide bombers identified as Salafiya Jihadiya adherents linked to the Moroccan
Islamic Combatant Group (GICM) and Al Qaeda attacked five Western and Jewish targets in
Casablanca, killing 45 and injuring more than 100. A large GICM network later was implicated in
the March 2004 Madrid train bombings. Moroccans suspected of GICM affiliation were arrested
in several European countries. In 2005, the U.S. State Department designated GICM as a Foreign
Terrorist Organization (FTO), but the Department now states that “much of the GICM's
leadership in Morocco and Europe has been killed, imprisoned, or are awaiting trial.” 5 The
Moroccan government convicted the group’s alleged leader in absentia for his role in the
Casablanca attacks, but he remains free in exile in the United Kingdom.
Moroccan and European authorities continue to disrupt cells that they say are linked to Al Qaeda
in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), formerly the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC),
a group originating in Algeria with regional ambitions. The AQIM threat to Morocco stems
mainly from the potential transfer of operational capabilities to inexperienced radicals. In April
2007, two suicide attacks occurred near the U.S. Consulate and the American Language Center in
Casablanca; the bombers killed only themselves. Moroccans also have fought with insurgents in
Iraq.

3 “An Islamic Cleric Becomes the Focus of Madrid Inquiry,” Asian Wall Street Journal, March 18, 2004.
4 “Moroccans Say Al Qaeda Masterminded and Financed Casablanca Suicide Bombings,” New York Times, May 23,
2003.
5 U.S. State Department, Country Reports on Terrorism 2008, released on April 30, 2009.
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Counterterrorism
Morocco is cooperating with U.S. and European agencies to counter terrorism at home and
abroad. The U.S. State Department recognized that in 2008
The Moroccan government pursued a comprehensive counterterrorism approach that,
building on popular rejection of terrorism, emphasizes neutralizing existing terrorist cells
through traditional law enforcement and preemptive security measures, and prevented
terrorist recruitment through comprehensive counter-radicalization policies. Morocco
aggressively targeted and dismantled terrorist cells within the Kingdom by leveraging
policing techniques, coordinating and focusing the security services, and expanding and
bolstering regional partnerships. These efforts resulted in the neutralization of numerous
Salafi Jihadi-inspired terrorist groups....6
Morocco has exerted greater control over religious leaders and councils, retrained imams,
retrained and rehabilitated some individuals convicted of terror-related crimes to correct their
understanding of Islam, and launched radio and television stations and a website to transmit
“Moroccan religious values” of tolerance. In 2005, the King launched a National Initiative for
Human Development to redress socioeconomic conditions extremists exploit for recruitment.
Observers question its effectiveness.
Human Rights
The U.S. State Department described human rights problems in Morocco in 2008 in the following
way:
Citizens did not have the right to change the constitutional provisions establishing their
monarchical form of government or the establishment of the practice of Islam. Reports of
torture and other abuses by various branches of the security forces persisted, and prison
conditions remained below international standards. Reports of arbitrary arrests,
incommunicado detentions, and police and security force impunity continued. Politics, as
well as corruption and inefficiency, influenced the judiciary, which was not fully
independent. The government restricted freedoms of speech, religion, and the press.
Corruption was a serious problem in all branches of government. Trafficking in persons
continued, and child labor, particularly in the unregulated informal sector, remained a
problem.7
At the King’s initiative, parliament enacted revolutionary changes to the Family Code or
Moudawana in January 2004, making polygamy rare by requiring permission of a judge and the
man’s first wife, raising the legal age for marriage for girls to 18, and simplifying divorce
procedures for women, among other changes to improve the status of women. The King also
created an Equity and Reconciliation Commission to provide an historical record of abuses, to
account for the “disappeared,” and to compensate victims. In 2001, he launched a dialogue on

6 U.S. State Department, Country Reports on Terrorism – 2008, Released April 30, 2009.
7 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2008, Morocco, February 25, 2009.
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Berber culture, and the government has since authorized the teaching of Berber dialects and
issued a textbook in Berber.8
After the May 2003 attacks in Casablanca, parliament passed antiterrorism laws to define terrorist
crimes and establish procedures for tracking terrorist finances. Human rights activists express
concern about restrictions on the press, detention without charge, and reduced requirements for
the death penalty. Other observers question whether elements in the regime are using the threat of
Islamist terror to roll back reforms. Some worry that detention may create radicals who will
eventually be released into society.9
Economy
Although there have been attempts to diversify the economy, large portions of Morocco’s gross
domestic product (14.73%) and labor force (44.6%) continue to depend on agriculture and are
vulnerable to rainfall fluctuations. Oil price increases also have detrimental effects because
imports supply 97% of the country’s energy needs. Services and tourism are considered growth
sectors, with tourism and remittances from
abroad providing foreign exchange. The
Morocco: Basic Facts
public sector remains large. There is a
Population: 34.6 million (2009 est.)
successful, if erratic, privatization program,
Gross Domestic Product growth rate: 5.9% (2008)
Gross Domestic Product per capita: $4,000 (2008)
and growth in foreign direct investment
Inflation: 4.6% (2008)
despite the impediments of excessive red tape
Unemployment: 10% (2008)
and corruption.10
Exports:
clothing, electronic components, inorganic chemicals,
However, economic growth and reforms have
transistors, crude minerals, fertilizers (including
been insufficient to reduce unemployment and
phosphates), petroleum products, fruit, and vegetables
poverty which drive Moroccans abroad.
Imports:
Remittances from an estimated 3 million
crude petroleum, textile fabric, telecommunications
expatriates, mainly in France, account for
equipment, wheat, gas and electricity
about 9% of the gross national product.
Major Trading Partners:
France, Spain, United Kingdom, China, Italy, Saudi Arabia
The government’s goals include achieving 6%
Source: CIA, The World Factbook, June 1, 2009.
GDP growth rate, creating 250,000 new jobs,
and building 150,000 housing units a year
until 2013. While perhaps overambitious, these targets reflect the government’s intent to combat
poverty and unemployment—conditions which it believes produces terrorists. The government’s
plans are being affected by the global financial crisis/recession which already has resulted in
thousands of job losses in textiles and automotives, as well as decreases in tourist spending,
expatriate remittances, and exports. In 2009, however, a surge in farm yields is expected to offset
these difficulties and help produce a growth rate of over 5%.11

8 The Berbers are the original inhabitants of North Africa before the Arabs invaded in the 8th century.
9 Jill Carroll, “Morocco’s Harder Line on Security Challenges Reforms,” Christian Science Monitor, April 9, 2007.
10 Morocco is ranked 80 out of 180 countries on the Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2008, on
line at http://www.transparency.org.
11 “Morocco Sees Economy Up 5.3%,” TradeArabia, June 23, 2009.
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Foreign Policy
Western Sahara
The dispute between Morocco and the independence-seeking Popular Front for the Liberation of
Saqiat al-Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario) over the former Spanish colony south of Morocco
remains unresolved. Morocco occupies 80% of the Western Sahara, considers the region its three
southern provinces, and will only accept a solution that guarantees it sovereignty over “the whole
of its territories.” The King submitted an autonomy plan for the region to the U.N. in April 2007,
and Moroccan and Polisario negotiators met four times under U.N. auspices in 2007 and 2008,
but not since then.12 On April 10, 2007, then Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns stated that
the United States considers the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Western Sahara “serious and
credible.” In October 2001, Morocco had authorized French and U.S. oil companies to explore off
the Saharan coast, and the prospect of discoveries, as yet unrealized, may have hardened
Morocco’s resolve to retain the region.
Algeria
Morocco and Algeria have a longstanding regional rivalry. The Western Sahara is the main
impediment to improving their bilateral relations and to reviving the Arab Maghreb Union
(UMA), a loose organization of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya. Morocco
refuses to compromise on the Western Sahara issue for the sake of bilateral relations or the UMA.
Algeria hosts and backs the Polisario. Despite these disagreements, there is some cooperation to
counter terrorism and illegal immigration. In July 2004, the King abolished visa requirements for
Algerians entering Morocco; in April 2006, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika reciprocated
the gesture. In March 2008, Morocco requested that Algeria reopen their land border, but Algeria
has not acted.
Europe
Morocco’s Association Agreement with the European Union (EU) came into force on March 1,
2000, and is supposed to lead to a free trade agreement by 2012. In October 2008, Morocco
became the first southern Mediterranean country to be granted “advanced status relations” by the
EU, opening up EU markets more for Moroccan products. Morocco participates in the EU’s Euro-
Mediterranean Partnership and its Neighborhood Policy Plan and receives considerable EU aid --
€190 million ($265 million ) annually. Illegal immigration of Moroccans and of sub-Saharan
Africans transiting Morocco to Europe and drug (cannabis)-trafficking have caused friction in
Moroccan-European relations. High unemployment drives Moroccan youths to Europe and EU-
funded programs to shift farmers in the underdeveloped Rif Mountains from cannabis cultivation
to alternative crops have not been successful.


12 For text of plan, see http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/politics/sahara_issue__full_t/view.
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Figure 1. Map of Morocco

Source: Map Resources. Adapted by CRS.
Morocco traditionally has had good relations with France and Spain, its former colonizers.
Relations with France, Morocco’s largest trading partner, are particularly close. Paris officially
supports U.N. efforts to resolve the Western Sahara dispute and Morocco’s autonomy proposal for
the region, and blocks Security Council initiatives on the matter that Morocco rejects.
Morocco’s relations with Spain have been intermittently discordant. Spain possesses two enclaves
on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast, Ceuta and Melilla, that are vestiges of colonialism and are
claimed by Morocco. In October 2001, Morocco recalled its ambassador from Madrid after pro-
Saharan groups in Spain conducted a mock referendum on the fate of the region. In July 2002,
Spanish troops ejected Moroccan soldiers from the uninhabited Perejel/Parsley or Leila Island off
the Moroccan coast that Spain says it has controlled for centuries. Diplomatic ties were not
restored until January 2003. That July, Morocco complained that Spain lacked neutrality on the
Sahara issue when it chaired the Security Council and, in October, Spain suspended arms sales to
Morocco due to the Perejel crisis. Morocco still closely cooperated with Spanish authorities in the
investigation of the March 2004 bombings in Madrid and continues to cooperate to counter
terrorism. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero visited Morocco in April 2004,
and King Juan Carlos I visited in January 2005; on both occasions, joint statements called for a
negotiated settlement to the Sahara issue—the Moroccan position. Moroccan soldiers have served
under Spanish command in the U.N. stabilization mission in Haiti and Moroccan gendarmes have
joined Spanish patrols to combat illegal immigration in the Strait of Gibraltar. However, visits to
Ceuta and Melilla by the Spanish prime minister in January 2006 and monarchs in November
2007 again set back relations. An emerging issue concerns Morocco’s plans for a “super port” at
Tangiers, which may be competition for Spanish ports. Financed by Gulf countries, the port will
achieve full capacity in 2014.
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Middle East
The King chairs the Jerusalem Committee of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and
supports international efforts to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
resulting in viable, contiguous, Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. He recognizes
President Mahmud Abbas as the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people in Abbas’s dispute
with Hamas.
Morocco closed Israel’s liaison bureau in Morocco and Morocco’s office in Tel Aviv in reaction
to Israel’s conduct during the first Palestinian intifadah (uprising) in 2001. The offices have not
reopened. The King and others kept up contacts with Israeli officials and, in August 2005, he
personally congratulated Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
The link may be unbreakable because some 600,000 Israelis are of Moroccan origin, and about
25,000 of them travel to Morocco yearly. Morocco again condemned Israel’s conduct against
Palestinian civilians during its December 2007/January 2008 campaign against Hamas in the
Gaza Strip, and Moroccan political groups of all stripes held some of the largest rallies in the
Arab world in protest.
In March 2009, Morocco severed diplomatic relations with Iran, blaming it for “intolerable
interference in the internal affairs of the Kingdom.” The Foreign Ministry accused the Iranian
Embassy in Rabat of seeking to spread Shi’a Islam in the 99% Sunni kingdom. It also charged
Iranian officials with making unacceptable remarks following Morocco’s expression of solidarity
with Bahrain in the face of Iran’s claim to Bahrain.13 The situation rapidly deteriorated. Tehran
charged that Morocco’s decision harmed “the unity of the Islamic world” and the solidarity
needed to support the Palestinian people. Rabat rejected the allegation and argued that, “Iran is
not qualified to speak for the Islamic world.... Morocco does not need lessons from Iran or
anybody else to show solidarity with the Palestinian people....”14
Relations with the United States
The United States and Morocco have long-term, good relations. Successive Administrations, of
both political parties, have viewed Morocco as a steady and close ally and as a moderate Arab
state that supports the Arab-Israeli peace process. In January 2009, King Mohammed VI
congratulated President Obama on his election and seized the opportunity “to say how satisfied I
am with the special strategic partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States
of America.”15 On April 8, after meeting Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri, Secretary
of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said, “We are so committed to our relationship and have a very
high regard for the extraordinary progress that has taken place in Morocco ... and we look
forward to deepening and strengthening our relationship.”

13 Statement of Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, MAP News Agency, March 6, 2009, BBC
Monitoring Newsfile.
14 “Moroccan Government Spokesman on Reasons Behind Severing Ties with Iran,” Al-Quds al-Arabi, March 9, 2009,
BBC Monitoring Middle East.
15 “King Congratulates Barack Obama on Investiture, MAP news Agency, January 20, 2009, BBC Monitoring Middle
East.
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In 2004, President Bush designated Morocco a major non-NATO ally. Morocco is part of NATO’s
Mediterranean Dialogue, has hosted and participated in NATO military exercises, and has joined
NATO’s Operation Active Endeavor, monitoring the Mediterranean for terrorists. In addition,
bilateral U.S.-Moroccan military exercises are held regularly. Morocco also is cooperating in the
U.S. Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP). In December 2007, the Defense
Department announced an FMF sale to Morocco of 24 F-16 aircraft and associated equipment and
services for up to $2.4 billion.
Bilateral ties have been strengthened by cooperation in the fight against terrorism and improving
trade relations. An FBI team helped investigate the Casablanca bombings, and the FBI and CIA
Directors have visited Rabat for consultations. A free trade agreement (FTA) with Morocco, P.L.
108-302, August 17, 2004, came into effect on January 1, 2006. The United States has increased
aid to Morocco to assist with countering terrorism, democratization, fighting poverty, and the
FTA. In August 2007, the Millennium Challenge Corporation Board approved a five-year, $697.5
million grant for Morocco.
Table 1. U.S. Aid to Morocco

FY2008 Actual
FY2009 Estimated
FY2010 Request
ESF 15,374
0

3,000
FMF
3,625
3,655
9,000
IMET
1,713
1,725
1,900
INCLE
496
1,000
2,030
NADR
1,119
625
1,200
DA
4,136
18,000
24,500
Notes: All figures are in thousands. FMF=Foreign Military Financing, ESF=Economic Support Funds,
IMET=International Military Education and Training, INCLE=International Narcotics and Law Enforcement,
NADR=Non-Proliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Activities, DA=Development Assistance.
Table 2. U.S. Trade with Morocco
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Exports to Morocco
$526.6
$525
$878.4 $1.3
$1.5
(billion)
(billion)
Imports from Morocco
$515.2
$445.8
$521.4 $609.9
$878.7
Notes: All figures in millions, except 2007 and 2008 exports in billions.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Trade Stats Express, http://tse.export.gov

Author Contact Information

Carol Migdalovitz

Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
cmigdalovitz@crs.loc.gov, 7-2667

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