1- This is what a US State Department secret memo said about the Sahara in the 1980's: "Although Algeria's ostensible reason for supporting the Polisario is the principle of self-determination its historical competition with Morocco in northwest Africa is the primary motivation

2 "Algeria objective in the dispute is the establishment of an independent Saharan republic in which it expects to have a predominant influence."

3- "This would deny to Morocco the territory's significant economic resources and stymie Morocco's efforts to restrict future Algerian access to the Atlantic."

4 "Boumediene, in short, opposes Moroccan assimilation of the Western Sahara because it would challenge Algeria's aspirations to dominance in north Africa."