Should The US Suspend Pledge of $700 Million In Aid to Morocco?

The mandate of the MCC is based on the assumption that ‘aid is most effective when it reinforces good governance.’ Rather than making strides toward accountable and democratic governance since receiving the MCC grant, Morocco has regressed…. At a time when the United States owes more in debts and commitments than the total combined net worth of all Americans, it is unacceptable to provide $697.5 million in taxpayer dollars to a nation which blatantly disregards the right of American citizens residing in Morocco and forcibly expels American citizens without due process of law.

The famously moderate Muslim government shocked religious-freedom observers when, beginning in March, its Interior Ministry rounded up and expelled within hours dozens of Christian humanitarian and social workers, educators, and businessmen. A second wave of deportations followed in April, bringing the total to 105 Christian deportees. None was afforded due process. In violation of Moroccan law, even those Christians who had lived there for a decade or more and had deep roots in the community were escorted out of the country with only hours notice and without an explanation of charges. The prestigious George Washington Academy in Casablanca has been demonized by the media and subject to state investigations. Some are saying that a cleansing of the small, mostly foreign Christian community is underway.