It is not true that the French and Spanish viewpoints are identical in regard to the ways to ensure the release of the Western hostages kidnapped in the Sahel region south of the Sahara. Nonetheless, the meeting between the two countries' foreign ministers, Kouchner and Moratinos, reiterated the concurrence of the concerns to dissipate the fears between Madrid, which made a financial deal to secure the release of its hostages, and Paris, which resorted to the use of weapons without success. While the French are more sensitive about the issues evolving in their traditional area of influence around Mauritania, Mali, Senegal, Niger and Chad without excluding Algeria and Morocco on the beat of the disputes which are cooling down at times and escalating at others, the Spanish for their part have become more eager to compete with the French role, aided by the fact that they used the Sahara matter as a card that can be infiltrated. In parallel to the concord announced by Kouchner and Moratinos over the handling of the terrorism issue, they put forward another agreement over the hastening of the conflict resolution in the Sahara "because this would help find a solution to the Sahel issue." This is probably the first time we see a link established between two different matters that converge nonetheless at the level of the security challenges which the Europeans are not interested in distinguishing - whether in regard to illicit immigration, drug trade, terrorism or organized crime - as long as they are classified as problems coming from the countries located south of the Mediterranean Sea. What probably makes the Spanish inclined to establish that link is the fact that the Sahara issue is the object of negotiations, and that consequently deals could be reached with the hostage-takers, i.e. the organization of "Al-Qaeda in the Sahel and the Sahara." Still, it is believed that the continuation of the Sahara conflict without any horizon is prompting complaints and disgruntlement, especially in the ranks of the Sahrawi population living in the camps and the combatants used to carrying arms. In this context, reports indicated that the arms smuggling and trade have become a wide-scale phenomenon in the area, which means that the ending of the Sahara conflict will close one of the windows of security mayhem, as we are facing a large area lacking any monitoring by the states and governed by ties and relations which are closer to loyalty to the tribes than loyalty to the authority. But are the French and the Europeans really seeking the hastening of the resolution of the Sahara issue, or was the recipe which was proposed by international envoy Christopher Ross during his trip to Madrid and Paris the day he expressed pessimism toward the threats of security turmoil in the region, behind these conclusions that are mere faint tones to clear one's conscience? In any case, the disputes between Madrid and Rabat are not helping Spain voice an acceptable position to all the sides, considering it is changing its stand as often as Moratinos changes his ties, while the disputes are running deep between Paris and Algeria. For his part, Christopher Ross is asking the Security Council member states to deploy more pressures on the concerned sides to urge them to pave the way before serious negotiations that would lead toward a final settlement. However, the issue is not about giving guarantees and ratifying conditions which are only further complicating this file. The collective talk about threats targeting the region is a reality which cannot be overcome without an agreement over the fact that the security challenges in the Sahel and the Sahara are directed against all the sides. And while the position in regard to this file is a regional and international focal point, it sheds light on one of the issues, which could be the object of progress without raising any sensitivity. If the security dimension and the human wager in dealing with the Sahara file are ever combined, this could mark the beginning of the road leading toward a solution. It would be enough in this context to go back to the statements of international envoy Ross to see that he was the first to tackle the controversy of the link between the security facet and the human facet at this level. Moreover, he invited the neighboring countries to encourage themselves and the concerned sides to head toward the negotiations, while in case the circumstances are not ripe enough for that, he called on them to head toward more comprehensive negotiations to discuss the situation developing underneath the dunes of quick sands in the Sahel region south of the Sahara.
