Hassan acted as an intermediary between Egypt and Israel in 1977 before Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's trip to Jerusalem and refused to accept the Egypt–Israel peace treaty brokered by the Carter administration.

[6] The policy was a strategic maneuver to counter Muammar Gaddafi of Libya who provided support to the Polisario Front, his closeness with the Soviet's, and for his sponsoring of terrorist organizations in the MENA region.

"[9][10] American policy under Bill Clinton did not change from the previous administration as it maintained neutrality and did not recognize Western Sahara as Moroccan territory.

Morocco wanted to augment the voter list based on the census taken during the Spanish time of the 1970s, while Polisario rejected the proposal, leading to the prevention of the referendum of the accord.

[19] In classified documents released in 2020, Clinton encouraged Morocco to abandon the idea of a referendum in Western Sahara and "opt for a negotiated solution through direct talks with the Polisario."

Berger stated that the Moroccans wouldn't "countenance any outcome under which it would lose sovereignty over the area" and "In quiet approaches over the past several months, we had encouraged [King] Hassan to opt for a negotiated solution through direct talks with the Polisario."

[1] Commenting on a 2004 free trade agreement with Morocco, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick stated in a letter to Congressman Joe Pitts in response to his questioning, "the United States and many other countries do not recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and have consistently urged the parties to work with the United Nations to resolve the conflict by peaceful means.

Citing the Spanish approach to regional autonomy, the Moroccan government plans to model any future agreement after the cases of the Canary Islands, Basque Country, Andalusia, or Catalonia.

[25] In April and October 2007, the Bush administration sought to make the Western Sahara Autonomy Proposal the basis of the U.N.-led political process when it was introduced to the UN in 2006.

[29] Five months later Hillary Clinton, then-Secretary of State, told the Moroccan government during a visit meeting with then-Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri, "It is important for me to reaffirm here in Morocco that there has been no change in policy.

"[26] In April 2009, 229 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, a clear majority and more than 50 more than the number who signed the letter in 2007, called on President Obama to support Morocco's autonomy plan and to assist in drawing the conflict to a close.

In addition to acknowledging that Western Sahara has become a recruiting post for radical Islamists, the letter affirmed that the conflict is "the single greatest obstacle impending the security and cooperation necessary to combat" terrorism in the Maghreb.

[31] In closing, the letter stated, "We remain convinced that the U.S. position, favoring autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution.

The letter openly called on Secretary Clinton and the Obama Administration to provide: "…more sustained American attention to one of the region's most pressing political issues, the Western Sahara."

"[33] On September 13, 2012, during the U.S.-Morocco strategic dialogue, Clinton stated that the proposal was "a potential approach that could satisfy the aspirations of the people in the Western Sahara to run their own affairs in peace and dignity."

[26][34] After Clinton stepped down as Secretary of State in February 2013, John Kerry, former Senator from Massachusetts became her successor, a leaked 2012 Moroccan government cable expressed concern claiming it had "an ally who will be difficult to replace.

"[35] Kerry in 2001 signed a letter to the State Department expressing support for an independence referendum in Western Sahara and asserting "the personal dispensation remains a major element that can sometimes weigh in our favor or disfavor."

[38] On November 22, 2013, Mohammed VI visited the United States and held a bilateral meeting with Barack Obama where both delegations in a joint statement affirmed to find a peaceful, sustainable, mutually agreed-upon solution to the conflict.

The funds came from the passage of Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 after lobbyists for Morocco convinced Congress to legislate foreign aid to be spent in Western Sahara.

[44] The UN said that its position on Western Sahara was "unchanged" following the US announcement, with a spokesperson of Guterres suggesting that "the solution to the question can still be found based on Security Council resolutions.

Ten days earlier, Brett McGurk, the National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, spoke to Bourita offering no change in the position.