Washington and Tunis upgrade ties after Paris attacks

Washington and Tunis upgrade ties after Paris attacks
Analysis: The strengthening of US-Tunisian ties could mean a shift in Washington's influence in North Africa.
3 min read
19 November, 2015
US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Tunisia last Friday [AFP]
US Secretary of State John Kerry has declared in Tunis that the days of the Islamic State group (IS) were numbered.

The next day, following the Paris attacks claimed by IS, US forces killed Wassim Najm Abed Zeid al-Zubeidi, a senior IS leader in Libya.

Zubeidi, aka Abu Nabil al-Anbari was an Iraqi. According to Italian news agency ENSA, he was the ringleader of the attack on the Bardo museum in March and was also involved in the massacre of Coptic Egyptian hostages earlier this year.

The Italian news agency said the strike followed joint US-Tunisian intelligence efforts.

In truth, this cooperation suggests the dynamic in North Africa is likely to change, especially in terms of the US and French presence.
     The carnage in Paris will prompt everyone to step up their efforts in North Africa, particularly Tunisia and Libya


The carnage in Paris will prompt everyone to step up their efforts in North Africa, particularly Tunisia and Libya, both gateways to Europe a few dozen kilometres across the Mediterranean.

During his visit to Tunisia on Friday, Kerry said IS was expanding in Libya thanks to the stalemate between the rival governments in Tobruk and Tripoli.

He called for forming a single legislature as soon as possible, suggesting there would be an international conference on Libya in the coming months.

The United States now perceives Tunisia, a relatively small nation, as a key ally.

Tunisia has received up to $700 million in US aid in the past four years, reportedly making it the number one recipient of US aid in the Arab Maghreb.

During his visit to Tunisia, Kerry announced the Obama administration had allocated $250 million in further security assistance to Tunis, and hinted that yet more assistance could be on its way.

Kerry said a number of military experts would arrive in Tunisia in the coming two weeks to discuss further cooperation in intelligence and reconnaissance, stressing respect for Tunisia's sovereignty.

There are concerns about the prospect of rapprochement with the US affecting relations with Algeria, which are already lukewarm.

This could explain Kerry's reassurances about Tunisia's sovereignty.

However, Tunisia, which sees the situation in Libya as an existential threat, appears willing to pay any price to protect its fledgling democracy.

Tunisia also wants the United States to deliver a loan of $500 million and support its economy with other measures to back its current reform drive.

Before arriving in Tunisia Kerry met with the new UN envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler.

Kerry's aides had also met over two days with civil society leaders in Tunisia, and then visited the Tunisian ministries of defence and justice.

All this marks a clear US engagement with Tunisia, though this will raise questions about the impact on domestic politics, as the US wagers on the future of particular parties or figures.

     France is unlikely to sit idly by as the US makes such moves in its backyard in North Africa


The French connection

France is unlikely to sit idly by as the US makes such moves in its backyard in North Africa.

Abdullah al-Obeidi, a Tunisian former diplomat, told al-Araby al-Jadeed the latest US move in Tunisia was part of Washington's bid to counter China's influence in Africa.

Obeidi argued that Tunisia was important because of its proximity to Europe, Libya and the Sahara, and said the US government believes France, the traditional ally of many African states, cannot keep up with China's commercial war chest.

Libya and Morocco, Obeidi added, are also part of this US bid. If stability can be restored in oil-rich Libya, the US is expected to have a major presence there.

All these indications suggest there will be major geopolitcal shifts in Libya, Tunisia and North Africa, which the latest violence in Paris is only likely to expedite.