The orientalist Robin Bidwell points out how it is strange how Oufkir wasn’t involved with the 1971 coup in hindsight. Furthermore, Oufkir was already very powerful unlikely to have cared about the trappings of the King and if he was involved in the coup, it would be unlikely for him to fail. Bidwell argues that it is probable that the Court seized the opportunity to get rid of an over-mighty servant whose continuance in office led to loss in foreign aid.[8] Most evidence point to Oufkir being behind the coup, however.[34] Like with his motives, Oufkir’s intentions for Morocco after the coup were unclear, with some believing he wanted to install a regent and with others believing he wanted to establish a republic with the support of Morocco’s leftist parties.[44][46]
Views
Oufkir was part of the French-speaking Westernized elite who supported capitalist regimes[47] and was a staunch anti-communist[18] opposing rapprochement with leftists out of fear that it would push Morocco into a pro-Soviet direction.[48] He had a disdain for the urban Arab political and cultural elites in Morocco and would have preferred Morocco to not be part of the Arab League.[5] He grew up in the same region as the Jewish mystic Baba Sali and was a firm believer in his miracles. This disdain for the Arab elite and his experience with Baba Sali’s miracles made him the perfect candidate to run Morocco’s links with Israel. However, his relationship with Israel proved problematic for them when they were implicated in both the Ben Barka affair and the 1972 coup.[21][49]
