Experts in the News

The Trump administration's move to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara is an "astounding retreat from the principles of international law and diplomacy" that will "make no difference to the position of the international community and to the resolution of the conflict," wrote former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III. The upcoming Biden administration would do well to rescind President Trump's "rash and cynical” action.

President Trump on Thursday announced a U.S.-brokered deal between Morocco and Israel to normalize relations. To get the pact done, Trump overturned decades of U.S. policy by recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara — which Morocco has been fighting for control of against the territory’s Indigenous Sahrawi people. On Friday, former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, released the following statement on the issue: "While I strongly support the Abraham Accords, the proper way to implement them was the way it was done with the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, and not by cynically trading off the self-determination rights of the people of Western Sahara. I agree with Senator James Inhofe when he characterized this development as 'shocking and deeply disappointing.' It would appear that the United States of America, which was founded first and foremost on the principle of self-determination, has walked away from that principle regarding the people of Western Sahara. This is very regrettable."

“Sheikh Sabah was an effective mediator for peace and stability in the Middle East and a passionate humanitarian whose wise leadership was inspirational," Secretary James A. Baker, III, said in a statement on the Emir of Kuwait's death.

“Brent Scowcroft was a true American patriot who dedicated his bright mind, hard work and great integrity to the security of his country," said James A. Baker, III, in a statement on the former national security advisor’s death.

“Compromise has become more difficult — and sometimes, it seems, impossible. But we should not despair. I am fundamentally optimistic about our country’s future,” said Secretary James A. Baker, III.