YOUNES TIHM
Youness Tihm was born in Rabat, Morocco. He holds a DEUG from University of Mohammed V, a BA in International Relations from Nazareth College of Rochester (NY), and a teaching certificate from Cambridge University (UK). Youness is now preparing a Master’s Degree in Sustainable International Development, with a focus on Human Rights and Governance. He serves as President of the Institute of Leadership and Human Development. He also co-founded and advises a chapter of the NGO People to People International in Morocco. Tihm interned at the Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue, Center for International Education, the Moroccan-American Commission for the Education and Cultural Exchange, and the Embassy of Morocco. Tihm was awarded two leadership awards by the Academy for International Education in 2006 and 2007, a “Professor of the Year Award” by the Institute for Language and Communication Studies in Morocco, and most recently a “Training Future Leaders Award” by USAID.
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YOUNES TIHM
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 The Western Sahara conflict is one of the longest conflicts in Africa. For more than 30 years claims over the territory have been advanced by the different parties involved in the dispute. In the midst of different stages at which the level of conflict intensity changed in response to different political realities taking place, the people residing in Western Sahara have been the ultimate and most direct victims. Those people are still in a situation where their choices are very limited and the prospect of them being expanded primarily rests in the hands of political leaders who can either agree to bring the conflict to an end, or make it a lingering pain. The conflict has for the past three decades had negative impacts on the overall development of the Maghreb region, and caused diplomatic ties of many states to be jeopardized.
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YOUNES TIHM
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 It would be misleading to think that the United States has always been supportive to Israel’s occupation and hegemony over Palestine. The truth is the U.S. support to the Jewish state had been very cautious until Israel’s victory in 1967. The U.S. involvement in the development of the Arab-Israeli conflict had been very careful in terms of the attitudes and practical steps taken in favor of any state involved in the conflict.
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YOUNES TIHM
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 A mistrusted bicameral parliament is in place in Morocco and its members are supposedly elected every four years. The king is considered, according to the Moroccan constitution, the supreme political authority, head of the state, and religious authority (Amir Al Mouminin -Commander of the Faithful). He heads the army, and has the power to declare war and sign peace agreements. He also appoints the prime minister and other prominent people who serve in the government. Historically speaking, Morocco is considered to be one of the oldest states of the world, especially because of its existence and presence in international affairs as a political body for more than twelve centuries now.
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YOUNES TIHM
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 Getting the full picture of any news story requires looking at the issue itself from different perspectives. With this said, it seems as if Al Jazeera TV is either not aware of this very simple idea or simply ignores that it applies to it too. I am saying this because I have spent the last 5 months watching the infamous news outlet trying to see what it is that makes it either so loved or so hated. Here, as a Moroccan, I talk about it from my own biased perspective. This bias, however, is at least based on a few items of evidence that can be easily checked.
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YOUNES TIHM
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 Air-Force-One should head towards Morocco. The reasons vary and can be discussed from different standpoints. I personally think that basing the choice of speaking from Morocco to the rest of the Muslim world on the fact that Morocco is the U.S. oldest friend and ally has a limitation to it. This limitation can be partly highlighted by pointing out the U.S. has had remarkable relations with different nations throughout its history, but these relations have been altered and sometimes completely redesigned due to a wide variety of economic and political realities at the bilateral and regional levels. It is true that Morocco’s relations with the U.S. have not seen such negative episodes, and this is the only aspect of the argument that seems to exceptionally stand out.
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YOUNES TIHM
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 Looking at the historical trajectory of politics in Morocco, it could very easily be argued that the country’s political system was definitely different in the pre-protectorate era than it is now or during the French Protectorate. Even though there were major ethnic and cultural differences in Morocco, the political structure at the time was characterized by many common cultural and social norms. These have certainly favored certain segments of the society over others, but were generally unquestioned and unchallenged by the Moroccan society in its entirety.
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YOUNES TIHM
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 International law is a relatively recent set of regulations, which remain fluid and without verifiable enforcement. It is also known that modern state borders are not a very old tradition, thus making the new definition of state legitimacy a bit problematic in its implications on international law. It is, however, historically recorded that Morocco has had its own way of designing the scope of the state, and with it the reach of its policies and reign.
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