Covetous Neighbor

Ever since winning its independence from France in 1956, little Morocco has been nourishing a large dream--a wistful memory of the once mighty Islamic empire that straddled all North Africa and even conquered southern Spain. The expansive claims of the majority Istiqlal Party already argue for the annexation of most of Morocco's neighbors, and last week the growing irredentist movement got crucial support. King Hassan II, accused by some nationalists of being too moderate, sounded off in perfect harmony with the expansionist chorus. "Our consciences will not rest in peace," said Hassan, "until our cherished country has recovered its historic unity, until it has regrouped all its children in the North and in the South."

If all its children were to return, Morocco would have five times as much territory, add 2,000,000 people to its present 11,600,000 population. For Hassan lays claim to all of Spanish Sahara, the six Spanish enclaves of Morocco, all of Mauritania, and a generous slice of the Algerian Sahara as well (see map). Such claims are easy enough to make, since Morocco's borders, mostly unsurveyed, are in dispute. They shift with the constantly shifting sands, are completely ignored by thousands of nomads who cross and recross them daily. But France and Spain see the borders in a different light. Spain's Francisco Franco has refused to budge from the Spanish Sahara, especially since he learned that oil might be there--the only oil on Spanish territory. Franco has been reinforcing his troops in the Sahara and in enclaves where Spanish soldiers have periodically clashed with Moroccans in brief, often bloody, skirmishes. France, which gave Mauritania its independence last year, has no intention of serving the country up to Morocco along with its 150 million tons of iron ore deposits and its potentially vast oil reserves. The French also dismiss out of hand a Moroccan claim to the Algerian Sahara as far east as In Salah, which would include the French atomic testing ground of Reggane.

So far, Moroccan expansion is all in the talking stage. The government is bogged down in negotiations with Spain, makes periodic protests to the French over border violations in the Algerian war. Though some Moroccan hotheads press for war, the government plans to take its case to the U.N. if it cannot get its way.

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