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Join on Telegram Rabat – Despite lobbying attempts against Morocco’s hosting rights, the North African country remains the host of the May 2023 African Lion military exercise.
An authorized source that asked to speak on the condition of anonymity told Morocco World News (MWN) that the decision was announced during the visit of the Head of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), US Marine Corps General Michael Langley to Morocco earlier this week.
Langley made a two-day visit from October 17-18 to Morocco, marking his first trip to the North African country while serving as US AFRICOM commander.
Algerian analyst and journalist Oualid Kebir told MWN that this decision confirms that the lobbying attempts made by US Republican Senator James Inhofe against Morocco’s African Lion hosting rights have failed.
Kebir recalled that the Algerian regime has been paying millions of dollars to lobby companies to undermine Morocco’s interests.
The most vocal pro-Polisario voice in Washington, Republican Senator James Inhofe has recently requested the search for alternative sites to host the military exercise instead of Morocco.
“I have pushed [the Pentagon] to look at alternative locations for the annual African Lion military exercise that’s been hosted in Morocco previously,” the news website Defense News recently quoted Inhofe as saying at a senate confirmation hearing in July.
“I’m pleased that [Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin] is in agreement with me on this issue,” the senator added.
Former AFRICOM commander US General Stephen J. Townsend ruled out claims that the decision to look for an alternative site to host the training is due to a change of heart in the US position regarding Western Sahara.
Townsend said that the US Defense Law for the Fiscal Year 2022 requires the Department of Defense to look at “diversifying the exercise.”
However, he emphasized that it will be difficult to find a host for the military maneuvers as “fantastic as Morocco.”
Langley, the new AFRICOM Commander who was appointed to this position in August, echoed Townsend’s remarks, emphasizing Morocco’s-US cooperation and their commitment to regional peace and security.
Langley said that “it is a great honor for me to make my trip to the Kingdom of Morocco in my new role as U.S. AFRICOM commander,” stressing that cooperation between Morocco and the US is “stronger than ever.”
Morocco, which participates in over 100 military exercises across the world, has been hosting the African Lion military training for 18 years.
