| Sections |
| Contact MENL |
<advertisement>
 Morocco Size: 622,012 square kilometers. Population: 28.1 million |
King Mohammed VI has not invested heavily in military modernization. The
king has decided to focus on internal security as well as development in a
bid to consolidate his authority. Instead, Rabat has worked with the
European Union, the United States and NATO to improve the skills of the
Moroccan military.Morocco's chief threat is neighboring Algeria. The two countries have fought
a proxy war in Western Sahara, claimed by Morocco and disputed by the
Algerian-supported Polisario independence group. Rabat has rejected United
Nations efforts for near-term elections in Western Sahara to determine
sovereignty.Still, defense expenditures have remained steady during most of the last
decade and Rabat spends about 4.5 percent of its gross development product
on defense. There has not been a major combat aircraft purchase in 20 years
and the kingdom still relies on aging F-5E and Mirage F-1 fighters. At the
same time, military personnel have steadily grown to about 200,000 from
140,000 in 1996. The army has restructured and become based on battalions as
the number of brigades has dropped by half.
To order a full country profile from Middle East Newsline, drop us an E-mail and we will respond with a price quote and more information. 
|
