United States and Morocco

Relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States of America date back to the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and specifically since 1777 when the sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah became the first monarch to help the United States. Morocco remains one of America's oldest and closest allies in North Africa, a status affirmed by Morocco's zero-tolerance policy towards Al-Qaeda and their affiliated groups. George W. Bush, designated the country as a Major non-NATO ally. Formal U.S. diplomatic relations with Morocco began in 1787 when the Confederation Congress ratified a Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the two nations which had been negotiated earlier in 1786. Renegotiated in 1836, the treaty is still in force, constituting the longest unbroken treaty relationship in U.S. history, and Tangier is home to the oldest U.S. diplomatic property in the world. Now a museum, the Tangier American Legation Museum is also the only building outside of the U.S. that is now a National Historic Landmark. Morocco is also one of the few countries in Africa to extend visa-free travel to American citizens.

                            The Crusades

The Christian Crusades in the heart of the Islamic World were one of history's most surprising coalitions. Often downplayed for the cruelty of war in the Middle East, the crusades spearheaded by the Catholic Church were a huge diplomatic breakthrough. Through a shared cultural heritage in the Christian religion, competing states in Europe would set aside differences in order send men to the East. It was a huge event and showed that religion is strong enough to unite people from different lands and cultures. Something like this was unprecedented.