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Morocco — a stable spot in a region full of turbulence | Star Tribune
Former U.S. representatives in Morocco reflect on the bilateral relationship of two historic allies:
It has been six years since we began our ambassadorial odyssey in Morocco. Two weeks after the swearing in as the U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, in September 2009, we were greeted at the Rabat airport by our 10-person Moroccan security team and a host of senior diplomatic officers who would become our friends, colleagues and allies over the next three and a half years. We were welcomed with tea and cookies — a ceremony that would become for us part of life in Morocco, happening before every meeting and every encounter. It was an important symbol of the hospitality and generosity that would define our stay in that beautiful country.
A day does not pass when we are not increasingly mindful of the uniqueness of our long-standing ally, the Kingdom of Morocco. So many of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa are confronting turbulence. Their citizens live or flee in terror because of instability and disorder in their countries.
Life in Morocco is significantly different. It is not a country of affluence and material comfort for all of its people; there are genuine problems that need to be addressed. Still, it should be remembered that ordinary people in Morocco have lives of normality and relative comfort; they do not live with fear…[FULL STORY]