![Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika meeting with French President Francois Hollande, Algiers, Algeria, June 15, 2015 (Algerian Press Service via AP).](https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/l_bouteflika_03242016_2.jpg?w=519&h=259&crop=1)
The day before Tuesday’s terrorist attacks in Brussels, a European Union representative visiting Algiers told Algerian officials that their country is “pivotal” in the fight against terrorism. He also praised Algeria for political changes that he called “an improvement of the situation.” The former is undoubtedly true. The latter was probably just a diplomatic nicety. The “situation” in Algeria remains as murky as ever. An al-Qaida terrorist attack against a gas facility last week prompted foreign firms to pull expatriate workers. Almost simultaneously, a police raid in Brussels targeted an Algerian citizen and member of the so-called Islamic State, in […]