There's a reason Algeria has been spared the dubious blessings of Arab Spring. The Algerian police state is by far harsher with dissidents than any of the so-called strongmen whose passing the West has cheered or facilitated.
Britain of course was gung-ho for clearing Gaddafi out of Libya. And Britain has been among the vanguard in braying for the destruction of the Assad regime in Syria. But here we have the spectacle of Britain's Prime Minister making nice with a regime that has a far more sinister track record than Gaddafi's Libya or Assad's Syria.
The reasons are beyond obvious. Algeria is a major profit center for prominent British corporations. The "B" in BP stands for something after all, and that headline-grabbing hostage incident of a couple weeks ago happened at a BP facility.
So Cameron is schmoozing the Algerians for greater security cooperation. He's not talking about greater security for political dissidents in Algeria obviously! No, he'd be talking about greater security cooperation in protecting British commercial interests.
He's talking to the right people. Those Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb types have more than a passing relationship with the Algerian security apparatus.
You could call it a love-hate relationship.
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