WASHINGTON 鈥� Before March 18, the wave of conflict and terrorist activity sweeping westward across聽North Africa聽from the Red Sea stopped聽at聽Tunisia鈥檚 border聽with Libya.
In the wake of聽the聽attack sponsored by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on the聽Bardo聽museum in Tunis that left 23 dead,聽the Algerian border is now the red line in the sand.
Is Algeria strong enough to weather the聽gathering storm? It鈥檚 an open question.
鈥淚 have to say when I first arrived there, I was surprised to see how nice and lively it is, because Algeria, as you know, had gone through a very difficult decade in the 1990s when it fought a very brutal war against Islamic extremism,鈥� says U.S.聽Ambassador Joan聽Polaschik聽in an exclusive interview with 海角精品黑料.
When she began her tour in August 2014,聽鈥淚 was expecting kind of a post-conflict society,鈥澛燩olaschik聽said,聽but 鈥渓ife聽there is really normal. People are out and about shopping, going to restaurants.鈥�
But whether Algeria can maintain that normality is the question that many counter-terrorism experts are asking.聽ISIL,聽which聽has attracted thousands of fighters from North聽Africa,聽including聽several hundred Algerian nationals,聽has managed to unearth long-buried discontent amongst individuals and organization around the world.
Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan recently acknowledged the depth of the agency鈥檚 concern about聽ISIL鈥檚 control over聽foreign fighters.
鈥淣o issue highlights the importance of our international partnerships more right now than the challenge of foreign fighters entering and leaving the conflict in Syria and Iraq,鈥� Brennan said during a March 13 speech at the聽Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
鈥淲e roughly estimate that at least 20,000 fighters from more than 90 countries have gone to fight — several thousand of them from Western nations, including the United States. Blunting the danger these fighters pose upon their return is a top priority for the U.S. intelligence community as well as our liaison partners.鈥�
Algeria is聽one of those partners, and聽Polaschik says she believes it鈥檚聽up to the task.
鈥淲hen I look at the capacity of those countries in North Africa, the Algerian security services,聽the military are among the best, because they have this hard-won experience and they have a pretty large security presence.鈥�
But聽Polaschik, in聽Washington for聽the State Department鈥檚聽annual聽Chief of Missions Conference,聽admits a new brand of聽extremism聽is on the rise聽in the region, and may threaten Algeria鈥檚 security.
鈥淲hen I look at the situation in Libya and the horrible events at the聽Bardo聽Museum in Tunisia, it鈥檚 very clear that there is a growth in the number of extremists and the quality of extremists. They are very violent.鈥�
International intelligence organizations have noted a significant rise in the number of training camps ISIL runs in Libya, and realize it could become a聽command and control hub for external plotting by the organization.
Algeria鈥檚 battle with extremists from 1992-1998聽ended the reign of 鈥渢he Armed Islamic Group,鈥� but聽in January聽2013, elements of al-Qaida in the land of the聽Magreb聽(AQIM)聽attacked an oil facility near Amenas, Algeria, resulting in the deaths of 39 foreign hostages, including three Americans.
Remnants of those organizations still exist.
鈥淪ince the 1990s there have been terrorists who鈥檝e been holed up in the mountains to the east of Algiers. There are also al-Qaida-affiliated groups who traverse the southern desert areas moving from Mali, Niger,聽Libya聽and back and forth, so there is a terrorist presence in the country and we have a State Department warning,鈥� says Polaschik.
But聽Polaschik, who grew up in Alexandria and attended the University of Virginia and Georgetown University, said part of her motivation for granting the interview was 鈥渢o let the folks here at home know that Algeria is an important friend and partner of the United States.鈥�
Another key motivation was painting an accurate picture of life in Algeria.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e sitting at home and you鈥檙e watching the news and you鈥檙e seeing a lot of really bad things happening in terms of violent extremism, I hope that people will understand that鈥檚 the minority view in the Middle East and North Africa,鈥� says Polaschik.
She said the people she meets are not much different from Americans, and聽encourages聽Americans to聽visit.
鈥淚 feel comfortable living and working there. I think American companies feel comfortable living and working there. It鈥檚 one of those places where, as long as you are aware of your surroundings, you maintain good relations with the host government, make sure聽you鈥檙e聽aware of what they鈥檙e aware of and share information, it鈥檚 OK.鈥�
