In the United States, efforts to convince the Trump administration to consider the Polisario Front a terrorist organization are gaining momentum. A recent article has provided new arguments in support of this campaign. «In 1988, Polisario missiles brought down two U.S. Agency for International Development aircraft, killing five Americans—and the U.S. failed to respond with sanctions», writes Robert Greenway, director of the Allison Center for National Security at The Heritage Foundation, an influential institution within Donald Trump's Republican Party. «Now, Joe Wilson's proposed bill forces Washington to make a choice: prolong indulgence or finally recognize the Polisario Front as the proxy threat it has become», Greenway insists. He adds that the strategic landscape has changed significantly since the 1988 incident. «In November 2020, Polisario unilaterally withdrew from the U.N.-brokered 1991 Western Sahara ceasefire. Then, its leaders declared the area a 'zone of war'; resumed rocket attacks along Morocco's 1700-kilometer berm; and warned that foreign consulates, airlines, and companies were 'legitimate targets'». The article has triggered a strong reaction from the Polisario. One of its affiliated media outlets condemned what it called a disinformation campaign «against the Polisario Front and the Sahrawi people», in a statement released on Thursday, May 22. While five Americans were killed in the 1988 attack, the number of Spanish victims attributed to Polisario violence reportedly exceeds 300. Yet, as in the U.S., Spanish authorities have largely avoided addressing this contentious chapter in the group's history.
