El Moudjahid – 29 April 2011
The Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the U.S. State Department, Daniel Benjamin, declared that counterterrorism relations between the United States and Algeria “have improved considerably”.
“The quality of relations between the United States and Algeria in the fight against terrorism has improved considerably over the past couple of years”, said Mr. Benjamin, speaking at a conference on Al Qaeda and its affiliates held on April 28 at the New America Foundation in Washington. Addressing the significance of international partnerships in combating terrorism, Mr. Benjamin mentioned as an example the cooperation between the United States and Algeria. “On the most important aspects, such as information sharing and military aspect, the United States has greatly improved its relations with the Algerian government”, he said. He mentioned, among others, the first meeting of the Contact Group between the two countries, held last March in Algiers and which he attended.
The Coordinator for Counterterrorism has, however, warned against the threat posed by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) during the current troubles prevailing in North Africa. “In the short term, instability in Libya and the transition in Tunisia may provide new openings to AQMI and we must not become complacent”, he warned. “We must continue to adjust our strategy in response to evolving conditions, work with our partners in the region to preserve the gains we have achieved through the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) and bilateral partnership.” He said, “We need to make sure to remain on the right track to reach our objective, which is to contain and marginalize AQMI.”
