USA, Israel, DGSE, Syria: Surreal Flip-Flops by Tebboune
Never in recent Algerian history has there been so many reversals on crucial issues, so much so as to betray some of the founding principles of the military regime in order to preserve its political survival. In his interview with the newspaper l’Opinion published on Monday, February 3, 2025, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune revealed a series of unexpected shifts that have astonished both domestic and international audiences.
We outline below why this reversal of the Algerian military regime demonstrates one inescapable truth: aware of its imminent downfall and its illegitimacy in the eyes of its people, it shamelessly exposes itself to both its citizens and the world. By repudiating its principles, by drawing closer to Israel, by accepting American OQTFs, and by laying the blame for all misfortunes at France’s door, while also fearing that Trump’s power might label the Polisario a terrorist organization, the regime is betting everything to avoid the ultimate historical humiliation that will haunt it forever: its defeat and collapse. The Algerian military regime unequivocally proves that its authority is founded solely on force, whether that of the American, Russian, or Turkish military.
Tebboune interview with l’Opinion published on Monday February 03, 2025
“We’re wasting our time with Macron”
First, he launches a harsh attack against Emmanuel Macron by declaring, “We’re wasting our time with him.” Yet not so long ago, Tebboune boasted about having established excellent relations with the French president. His current rhetoric marks a spectacular turnaround that reflects the deterioration of ties between Paris and Algiers. He cites two clear reasons for this crisis: France’s refusal to extradite Algerian dissidents whom it grants asylum to, and the Élysée’s recognition of the “Moroccan identity” of Western Sahara.
“We trust the DGSE, but everything from the DGSI is questionable”
The Tibhirine, GIA, and Silco cases have marked key episodes in the intelligence war and the ongoing tensions between Algerian military services and France. These cases illustrate how Algiers has always exploited the divisions between French internal security and external espionage. In this interview of flipped positions, it is clear that Algeria’s leaders in 2025 are nothing other than remnants of an old military guard from the 1990s, accustomed to operating on the basis of a strict separation between the DGSE and the DST (now between the DGSE and the DGSI).
President Tebboune thus minimizes the “DGSE affair,” dismissing it as a mere “misunderstanding,” even though just a few weeks earlier the Algerian press was denouncing a grave espionage scandal. At the same time, he declares that he finds “anything related to Retailleau questionable,” thereby establishing a firm break with the DGSI. This reversal of stance reveals a disturbing continuity in the strategy of those who run Algeria, relying on exploiting divisions within France, whether between the DGSI and DGSE, or left versus right.
“We’re accepting 306 American OQTFs and recognizing Israel, but please, don’t label the Polisario a terrorist organization”
At the same time, Tebboune announces that recognizing Israel is an option if the creation of a Palestinian state comes to fruition, a position similar to that of Saudi Arabia. Regarding the repatriation of Algerian nationals subject to an OQTF (Obligation to Leave the Territory) from the United States, he takes a conciliatory stance: Algeria is accepting 306 of its citizens, while rejecting others expelled from France. The most recent example is that of the Algerian “influencer” BoualemN, who was sent back by Paris only to be denied re-entry by Algiers.
“Regarding Syria, we have nothing to do with it”
Tebboune’s claim that Algeria “never accepted Assad’s massacres” is a brazen falsehood. Leaked Syrian intelligence documents have demonstrated the involvement of Algerian spies, led discreetly by Mohamed Mediene and Chafik Mesbah, while Algerian media meanwhile displayed open, unabashed support for Damascus: the military regime’s outlets labeled anti-Assad rebels as “terrorists,” and the DRS under Mohamed Mediene and Chafik Mesbah provided counterinsurgency expertise to crush Syria’s uprising. After Assad’s regime fell, several regime officials received discreet hospitality at the El Aurassi Hotel in Algiers. This revisionism aims to erase Algeria’s complicity in these events as regional alliances shift, but the evidence remains indelible.
Flip-Flops That Expose the Nature of Algiers’ Military Regime
Faced with the imminent implosion of its military regime, the power in Algiers has proven that it only respects force. It is attempting to distance itself from Assad’s Syrian regime, even as intelligence leaks revealed its involvement in counterinsurgency operations, by absorbing the expulsions of Algerian nationals (OQTFs) from the United States to avoid any confrontation with Trump, while simultaneously engaging in secret diplomatic efforts with Israel to obtain its recognition and avoid exclusion from the international order. In this balancing act, the military regime in Algiers is also deploying every means to prevent the Polisario from being designated a terrorist organization, a direct reaction to the diplomatic advances of Morocco which, by recognizing Israel, had delivered a heavy blow in the Western Sahara issue.
In light of these multiple flip-flops, the Algerian regime appears to be following a desperate logic of survival, with Tebboune deploying every stratagem to satisfy the demands of the high military hierarchy. By constantly shifting positions, flattering the United States, alarming France, and adhering to a policy of conditional rapprochement with Israel, he is attempting to maintain a precarious balance. However, this apparent complacency toward Israel is likely to backfire.
This declaration and the initiative to normalize relations with Israel do not stem from a sincere desire to recognize the Jewish state, but rather from a desperate bid for existential negotiation, bordering on the betrayal of the founding principles of the Algerian military regime. Moreover, the Israelis are well aware that this announcement comes in a context where much of the Algerian populace has been, for the most part, indoctrinated with anti-Semitism. Ill-prepared for such a declaration, Algiers’ leaders will now have to face a furious wave of popular discontent, turning their diplomatic maneuver into a potentially destructive lever against their own political survival.
The situation could ultimately turn against Tebboune: the pro-Israel declarations, likely to serve as an excuse for long-simmering public frustration, will be quickly exploited by the army to justify his ousting. Thus, rather than channeling legitimate anger against the true instigators of the crisis, the populace will end up protesting against Tebboune, presented as the scapegoat of an opportunistic military regime. This setback could well mark the point of no return, sacrificing the president in a political maneuver where the survival of military power outweighs the coherence of national principles.
Abderrahmane Fares
