The Western Sahara is an unlikely place for a war. A former Spanish colony, this area—about the size of Colorado— is classic desert country, almost totally barren as far as the eye can see. In the afternoon the winds sweep in and sand seeps through a cotton turban and into the throat, making every word a chore. At this time, life in the settlements slows down and people seek shelter from the heat and the sand until well past four o'clock.

But a war there is, and it is one in which the United States is playing a pivotal role. The war pits Morocco against the Polisario Front—acronym for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro— the guerrilla group that recently entered its second decade of fighting in the Western Sahara.