Winds of Change 
--------------- 
 
¶12.  (C) Since the 1970's the military itself has been 
perceived as the greatest threat to the throne and internal 
security in Morocco, not surprising given Morocco's own 
history and the broader context of the coup-ridden Middle 
East and Africa.  Of late, however, there is a general 
 
perception that the relationship between the Palace and the 
FAR is beginning to change to one of greater trust.  The 
King's growing confidence is partly signaled by a recent 
significant increase in military spending, particularly for 
modern hardware, although this is primarily a function of the 
GOM's perceived threat from Algeria and the fact that it is 
cost prohibitive at a certain point to maintain older 
military equipment.  The GOM increased the military's 
operating budget to more than USD 2 billion in 2007, 
significantly more than in previous years.  Likewise, the FAR 
is undergoing a significant modernization process, paying 
over USD 2 billion for 24 F-16 aircraft and over USD 300 
million for T-6 training aircraft from the U.S.  The GOM has 
commercially financed these transactions, thus far, but the 
upfront payments have come from the treasury, which has also 
committed to cover monthly payments.  The King recently 
allowed armed military flights north of Ben Guerir (located 
approximately 200 kilometers south of Rabat), an act not 
permitted in the past due to the King,s desire to keep the 
military far away from the Palace in Rabat.  The GOM is also 
looking to make significant purchases of M-1 Abrams battle 
tanks in the future. 
 
-------------------------------- 
U.S.-Moroccan Military Relations 
   Strong but Could Be Better 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶13.  (C) In general, the U.S. and Morocco share a robust 
military relationship with prospects for even closer ties in 
the future.  The health of the relationship is evidenced by 
increased U.S.-Moroccan military training exercises and the 
aforementioned military sales.  Morocco has also increased 
its activities under a partnership arrangement with the Utah 
National Guard, which regularly deploys to Morocco to conduct 
joint training and humanitarian relief operations.  We have 
submitted draft proposed language for the Moroccans to 
consider for an Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement 
(ACSA) and a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), and have 
received comments on the ACSA draft from the GOM.  In the 
future, the Embassy hopes to see improvements in the FAR's 
information sharing and accessibility to military units and 
facilities with our Defense Attache Office.  Although the FAR 
regularly dialogues with our attaches, quality information is 
lacking.  The FAR also does not recognize the Embassy Attache 
circle, an organization of Military Attaches from various 
countries residing in Morocco who elect a president to 
discuss issues of collective concern with the FAR.  It is 
apparent that the Palace continues to tightly control the 
FAR's interactions U.S. and other foreign governments. 
 
--------------------------- 
AFRICOM Viewed with Caution 
--------------------------- 
 
¶14.  (C) Previous interactions with GOM officials indicate 
that military leaders are opposed to AFRICOM basing a 
headquarters element in Morocco.  However, Morocco has 
offered to send a military liaison officer to the AFRICOM 
headquarters in Germany and has offered to assist U.S.-led 
efforts engaging with African countries.  Morocco has also 
approached AFRICOM representatives to solicit AFRICOM support 
in providing chemicals needed for their cloud-seeding 
operations in Senegal and providing logistics to assist with 
a proposed locust control program. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶15.  (C) The Mission is optimistic that the U.S.-Moroccan 
military relationship will continue to improve, but there are 
potential speed bumps in future.  We anticipate that 
cooperative joint training exercises will continue to occur 
at a robust pace, although the vast majority of this activity 
will likely take place in Morocco because of continued 
restrictions on the travel of FAR personnel.  While we 
anticipate that the Palace will continue to modernize the 
military, with the notable possible acquisition of M-1 Abrams 
tanks, we are increasingly concerned that Morocco, not used 
to the high operating costs of these high end items (and 
other budgetary pressures) may make it increasingly difficult 
for the Moroccans to make payments on purchases.  If payments 
become a problem for the GOM, this could sour relations 
temporarily.  While we believe that there are some signs of 
the King's increased confidence in the FAR, we believe that 
the monarchy still calculates that the military represents 
the biggest potential threat to the crown.  FAR officers 
will, therefore, continue to be distanced from policy making 
 
input and restricted from engaging in detailed discussions 
about Moroccan military strength and intentions with foreign 
military officers, including our attaches.