Rabat Hosts Morocco-US Defense Consultative Committee's 11th Session

People stand near an empty street with closed shops in the old city, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rabat, Morocco on March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
People stand near an empty street with closed shops in the old city, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rabat, Morocco on March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
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Rabat Hosts Morocco-US Defense Consultative Committee's 11th Session

People stand near an empty street with closed shops in the old city, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rabat, Morocco on March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
People stand near an empty street with closed shops in the old city, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rabat, Morocco on March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo

The Morocco-US Defense Consultative Committee (DCC) convened its 11th session this Tuesday at the headquarters of the National Defense Administration.

The meeting is held every two years alternately in Rabat and Washington, and is part of bilateral military cooperation which mainly focuses on the areas of training, military equipment and logistics.

Morocco’s Minister Delegate for National Defense Administration Abdellatif Loudyi and US Under-Secretary of Defense in charge of Political Affairs Anthony Tata co-chaired the session.
Tata is on a three-day working visit to Morocco at the head of a large military delegation.

The two officials expressed their satisfaction with the strength, excellence, and sustainability of the privileged ties and the exceptional strategic partnership between the US and the Kingdom of Morocco, said a statement issued by the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR).

They also highlighted their ambition to further develop these long-standing relations in the same spirit of friendship, mutual understanding and shared trust, it said.

The two officials stressed the importance of the decision of the US administration to recognize Morocco’s full sovereignty over the entire region of the Moroccan Sahara. This recognition makes the Moroccan autonomy initiative the only realistic, serious, and pragmatic solution to the regional conflict over the Kingdom's southern provinces.

Further, the two sides underlined that this historic event will certainly have a positive impact on the geostrategy of the region as well as on peace, stability, security, and economic integration in the Maghreb, the Sahel and the Middle East.

Loudyi highlighted the importance of consolidating military cooperation with the US, inviting the US Department of Defense to further explore collaboration opportunities for the establishment in Morocco of joint defense industry projects.

Afterward, a plenary session attended by members of the US delegation, the Commander of the Royal Gendarmerie and the heads of the organs of the General Staff of the FAR, was held to discuss Moroccan-American military cooperation and the prospects for its development.

To this end, the two delegations discussed the various aspects and orientations to ensure interoperability.



Pro-Iranian Militias Enter Syria from Iraq to Aid Beleaguered Syrian Army

Anti-government fighters take over the airport of the northern Syrian town of Minagh on December 1, 2024. (AFP)
Anti-government fighters take over the airport of the northern Syrian town of Minagh on December 1, 2024. (AFP)
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Pro-Iranian Militias Enter Syria from Iraq to Aid Beleaguered Syrian Army

Anti-government fighters take over the airport of the northern Syrian town of Minagh on December 1, 2024. (AFP)
Anti-government fighters take over the airport of the northern Syrian town of Minagh on December 1, 2024. (AFP)

Iranian-backed militias entered Syria overnight from Iraq and were heading to northern Syria to beef up beleaguered Syrian army forces battling opposition fighters, according to two Syrian army sources.

Dozens of Iran-aligned Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighters from Iraq also crossed into Syria through a military route near Al-Bukamal crossing, a senior Syrian army source told Reuters.

"These are fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the front lines in the north," the officer said, adding the militias included Iraq's Katiab Hezbollah and Fatemiyoun groups.

Iran sent thousands of Shiite militias to Syria during the Syrian war and, alongside Russia with its air power, enabled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to crush the opposition and regain most of his territory.

A lack of that manpower to help thwart the anti-government onslaught in recent days contributed to the speedy retreat of Syrian army forces and withdrawal from Aleppo city, according to two other army sources. Militias allied to Iran, led by Hezbollah, have a strong presence in the Aleppo area.

Israel has also in recent months stepped up its strikes on Iranian bases in Syria while also waging an offensive in Lebanon which it says has weakened Hezbollah and its military capabilities.