Don’t Forget Mauritania
By Isaiah Z. Sterrett (08/11/05)
In the African nation of Mauritania the other day, they had a coup. It was bloodless—a tidy overthrow—but it’s troubling, nonetheless, and not just to the people who were deposed. Perhaps more troubling is that, if you read American newspapers and watch American TV, you probably didn’t hear about it. Reporting on such an event would have taken needed resources away from investigating the sputtering romance of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
President Maaoya Sid'Ahmed Ould Taya assumed power in 1984 through a coup. (Live by the coup, die by the coup.) He is known for his brutal treatment of opponents—not exactly a desirable legacy. It was not until the 1990s that he instituted elections in his country, which were predictably called fraudulent by the opposition. Taya was a vocal supporter of the United States in the War on Terrorism and, even in his Muslim nation, a friend to Israel.
Indeed, Taya’s support for U.S.-led counterterrorism was by no means merely symbolic; he loudly opposed al-Qaeda and the Islamic fundamentalism it preaches. It is quite true that Taya frequently employed Islamism as an excuse to jail his political opponents, but it is also true that much of his work against al-Qaeda was legitimate. Algeria's Salafist Group for Call and Combat attacked Mauritania in June, killing fifteen Mauritanian soldiers, “in revenge for our brothers who were arrested in the last round of detentions in Mauritania.”
In addition to his direct support for the War on Terror, Taya opened ties with Israel six years ago, fueling considerable unrest among the Mauritanian citizenry. This has been widely cited as the primary force behind the overthrow.
Mauritanians don’t seem to have lost a great deal of sleep over the whole affair—the junta only required 17 soldiers—but that’s certainly not the story at the United Nations, the Department of State, or the office of ex-President Taya. The latter, now exiled in Niger, has vowed to return to his previous post as soon as “the armed forces…restore the natural order and put an end to this crime.”
The African Union is also displeased by these developments, suspending Mauritania’s membership. Adam Erili, an American official at the State Department, says that, though the U.S. certainly wished the coup hadn’t occurred, the United States is “not insisting on a given outcome other than it be a restoration of constitutional rule and practices consistent with international standards.”
The question, then, is what the United States should do. It’s important to realize, firstly, that, while we may have lost a potentially significant ally, our strategic losses are minimal. We’ve not lost Israel—merely a friend of Israel. Moreover, there is reason to believe that this new government, however unstable, will prove to be just as supportive as Taya’s regime in the long term. Though American diplomats initially called for a restoration of the previous government, it has now changed its tune, condemning the putsch while not demanding Taya’s return. That’s telling.
Because there is no urgency to the Mauritanian question, the U.S. has no cause to act alone or hastily. Any efforts directed toward Mauritania, at least at this point, must be international. The U.N. needn’t be involved, though it certainly could be, but real support from independent states would be essential. Turkey and Indonesia, in particular, as Islamic nations and allies of the United States, could be extremely helpful. Action may be unnecessary altogether, but any action, assuming the situation doesn’t intensify, should be multi-national. We have time to spare.
In the meantime, so long as no global coalition is formed, tough talk should continue. The stated policy of the U.S. must be that this coup was wrong and unacceptable. The new government of Mauritania must be assured that any sign of hostility toward U.S. or Israeli counterterrorism efforts will be seen as direct opposition to the War on Terrorism. The Bush Doctrine will be invoked.
What could also be helpful are the U.S. and international media. The current situation in Mauritania has been overwhelming, astonishingly underreported. The War on Terrorism is a multi-front war, immutably connected to the Muslim world, and Mauritania, officially known as the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is part of that world now more than ever.
© Copyright 2005 by Isaiah Z. Sterrett
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