MINISTER OF DEFENSE WANTS TO GIVE UP MANPADS

C O N F I D E N T I A L TIRANA 000332 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, ISN, PM/WRA DOD FOR OSD/WPOPOVICH E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/24/2018 TAGS: MASS PARM PREL NATO AL SUBJECT: MINISTER OF DEFENSE WANTS TO GIVE UP MANPADS REF: A) TIRANA 219 B) TIRANA 331 Classified By: Charge S.A. Cristina, reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) CDA, DATT, ODC Chief and Polmil Off on April 23 met with Minister of Defense Oketa to clarify the status of MANPADS destruction, requested by Oketa in a March 21 letter to Ambassador Withers (ref A). Contacts with the Minister and CHOD since that request indicated that Oketa might be reconsidering his request. We ran through the major arguments on why the MANPADS should be destroyed. He understood completely and assured us that he is committed to getting rid of them. The Minister explained that he had a made a tactical blunder. As an incoming minister with no defense experience, he felt that he should get a quick report from his generals on the efficacy and usefulness of the weapons, expecting that his staff would reply that the weapons were useless. In fact, they responded to the contrary, with the Commander of the Joint Forces arguing that Albania should retain the MANPADS as part of its air defense system. Only after receiving this advice did Oketa learn that there was an inter-ministerial decree that would have allowed him to sign off immediately on the disposal of the MANPADS. Now the Minister is in the position of having to act against his experts' advice. He therefore requested an expert U.S. evaluation of the missiles. ¶2. (C) Chief of Defense General Luan Hoxha sent us a letter following the meeting requesting officially our assistance in surveying their stock (ref B). We notified him at that time that our team should arrive early next week. We are confident that the team's report should provide Oketa with the justification he needs to override the objections of his experts. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: We believe Oketa is sincere and wants to do the right thing, not only with regard to MANPADS but also on safety and security issues at Gerdec. We recognize his difficult position as a new minister who has not yet developed the internal relationships he needs for his ministry to function smoothly. CRISTINA