Western Sahara

Today's New York Times offers a compelling op-ed piece on the Western Sahara conflict. Mohamed VI has certainly proved himself to be a more stable and modern ruler than his father on a number of issues, and I hope that his proposals do receive serious attention. The Polisario Front would like to see a referendum on the issue, and I do think that a democratic approach would be just if it could be properly carried out...but given the circumstances such a vote would be difficult to conduct without manipulation. After this long, any end to the standoff would be welcome, and to see it firsthand from here in Morocco could be very interesting indeed (though I must admit that everyone here is paying far more attention to the newborn princess than to the machinations of the UN).