US-Algerian relations have developed substantially, especially since 9/11. Few could have imagined that such close cooperative relations would be established. Their cooperation in the military-security domain has been outstanding; Algeria today partakes in a variety of joint exercises and is an integral part of the security arrangement the United States built in the Maghreb-Sahel. Trade, especially in the hydrocarbons sector, has also grown exponentially. However, despite the new ties and full similarity of views on security issues, the two countries have divergent views about the Middle East conflict, the definition of terrorism, and the conflict in Western Sahara. Furthermore, Algeria remains opposed to the establishment of AFRICOM in the continent. Due to the foundations that underlie its foreign policy, Algeria is reluctant to become a close ally of Washington, at least not under the latter’s terms. This paper provides an analysis of US-Algerian relations from Algeria’s pre-independence to the present; the objective of analyzing US policy toward colonial Algeria helps understand the perceptions that Algerians developed regarding the United States and other powers, perceptions which evolved into determining factors in shaping Algeria’s foreign policy since its independence in 1962. The working thesis in this paper is that despite current strong US-Algerian ties, the suspicions born in the pre-independence years, coupled with the policy clashes with the United States due to the radical foreign policy Algeria pursued until the early 1980s, have prevented the development of a close alliance. The paper will also test the hypothesis that the United States today would like for Algeria to play a proxy role in the volatile Sahara-Sahel region and will also seek to answer the question whether and under which conditions Algeria is willing to assume such role. The paper will be based on official documents and interviews with US and Algerian officials. It will also draw from the theoretical works of Bahgat Korany on the foreign policies of Third World states, as well as those of Alexander George and others on foreign policy and diplomacy.