The Hill News

In his recent blog entry, "Mercenaries in Libya: Gadhafi's Hired Terrorists," long-time Moroccan lobbyist Edward Gabriel is characteristically fast and loose with his “facts,” and seems more intent on inflaming passions between Morocco and Algeria than promoting the kind of Maghreb unity that the Government of Morocco publicly espouses. In his effort to fuel the Moroccan propaganda machine, Gabriel makes a series of baseless claims premised upon his assertion that Algeria is supporting Moammar Gadhafi against NATO and the Libyan resistance. Such allegations cannot go unchallenged.

Gabriel’s assertions to the contrary, NATO itself has made no statements indicating that the Government of Algeria is backing Gadhafi agai! nst NATO and the insurgency, and I challenge him to produce such evidence. Ironically, while on the one hand professing to desire closer relations with its neighbors in the Maghreb, on the other hand Morocco persists in paying lobbyists like Gabriel to “stir the pot” by making such specious allegations. Algeria has protested against such false claims in the past, and will continue to do so.  

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