At a crucial crossroads between Africa and Europe, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and the “Arab World” and the West, Morocco has long had a special place in U.S. diplomacy and strategic planning. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (9/11), Morocco’s importance to the United States has only increased; in 2004, President George W. Bush designated the country as a “major non-NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] ally,” thereby conferring it with various financial and military benefits not otherwise available to non-NATO states. More recently, the Moroccan regime has faced new risks to its stability, including Arab Spring-related developments and, to the south, possible threats from the Sahel region— which joins North and West Africa and spans historic trade and migration routes. These threats have taken the form of Islamist terrorism, the drug trade, kidnapping, and other criminal activities.