VZCZCXRO3686
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHTI #0788/01 3451340
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111340Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8657
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000788 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SCE:JISMAIL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR PINS AL
SUBJECT: DOES ALBANIA NEED A NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL? 
 
TIRANA 00000788  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Shortly after the March 2008 Gerdec tragedy, 
Prime Minister Sali Berisha announced his intention to create a 
National Security Council (NSC) to "coordinate the work of all 
agencies involved in security affairs."  However, during the year 
and a half that followed, no action has been taken to carry out this 
goal.  In recent weeks, several experts outside the government have 
lamented the lack of security expertise and coordination within the 
government and have revived the discussion of a need for a NSC. 
Although various competing executive bodies with responsibility for 
coordinating security affairs have existed since the fall of 
communism, none have a staff with the necessary expertise, nor do 
any meet on a consistent basis.  With NATO membership, EU candidacy, 
heightened concerns over counter-terrorism and looming troop 
deployment decisions, the need for a coordinated security strategy 
developed by security experts will be felt all the more acutely. 
End Summary. 
 
1991 - THE PRESIDENT AND THE DEFENSE COUNCIL 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) While the first laws after ThE falh o& "g,etfhsl bbeated a 
Parliamentary gov%r.eeft hn name, many of the executive powers 
concerning national security were assigned to the President.  The 
President was the commander-in-chief of the military and as such 
could make personnel and strategy decisions for the military.  The 
1991 law established a "Defense Council" (DC) headed by the 
president and given the responsibility to "direct, organize and 
mobilize all forces and resources of the country for the defense of 
the homeland."  The council included the Prime Minister, the 
Defense, Interior, Transportation and Economy Ministers, the 
Director of Intelligence (SHIK) and the Chief of the Military 
General Staff (CHOD).  According to security expert Arian Dyrmishi, 
during the first several years, the DC was an active body under 
then-president Sali Berisha (now prime minister).  The council 
largely focused on military affairs and did not address other areas 
of national security, such as law enforcement and the justice 
system.  The DC had no permanent staff and relied strictly on the 
expertise of the respective ministers. 
 
1995 - THE PRIME MINISTER AND THE KPSK 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) In 1995, Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi established a rival 
security council under his direction named the Political Committee 
for National Security (KPSK), although the committee did not enjoy 
real authority and was not very active.  It was initially 
established as an advisory body to the Council of Ministers and was 
comprised of many of the same persons sitting on the DC, adding the 
Ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs.  According to Dyrmishi, 
the KPSK took a more holistic approach to national security than the 
DC, but met very rarely, and had no permanent staff.  According to 
one external assessment, the KPSK has no legal or constitutional 
basis and thus, by law, no authority. 
 
1997 - CRISIS AND THE NSC 
------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The 1997 crisis drastically changed the dynamics between the 
President and the Prime Minister.  As the rival Socialists gained 
control of the Prime Minister's office, the KPSK became more active. 
A new constitution was passed in 1998 which drastically reduced the 
authority of the president, including authority to initiate draft 
laws.  One role he did maintain was as commander-in-chief of the 
military, although now he exercised even this function through the 
Prime Minister.  For example, while it is the President's 
responsibility to nominate or dismiss military commanders or to 
approve changes to the military structure, he must first receive a 
proposal for such from the Prime Minister. 
 
¶5.  (U) Along with these changes, the President's Defense Council 
was replaced by the National Security Council (NSC).  The NSC 
maintained similar membership to the Defense Council, but it lacked 
any authority and became an advisory board, much like the Prime 
Minister's KPSK before 1997.  Under Socialist President Rexhep 
Meidani, the NSC remained largely inactive.  However, with the 2002 
election of nonpartisan Alfred Moisiu, new life was breathed into 
the Council.  During Moisiu's five-year tenure, the NSC met at least 
twice a year, especially to discuss matters concerning Albania's 
Euro-Atlantic integration, a special interest of Moisiu's.  Yet the 
NSC still lacked a permanent staff or any decision-making authority. 
 During the same time, the Prime Minister's KPSK continued to meet 
regularly to discuss matters and now exercised authority to prepare 
decisions for the Council of Ministers (which was now the main 
executive body) on such matters as the regulation of movement across 
borders, counterterrorism, Euro-Atlantic integration, and the 
formulation of a national security strategy. 
 
 
TIRANA 00000788  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
2000 - THE NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Albania's first National Security Strategy was written in 
¶2000.  Consistent with the constitution, the document, approved by 
parliament, declared the President the highest authority on matters 
of national security, but delegated implementing authority to the 
Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers.  The 2004 review of the 
strategy further eroded the authority of the President, transferring 
authority to review the National Security Strategy to the Prime 
Minister and his KPSK every three years.  Since then, the Strategy 
has not been reviewed.  Security expert Sotiraq Hroni recently noted 
that the Strategy is largely written to please foreign donors and 
not out of an internal desire to meet security coordination needs. 
As anecdotal evidence of this attitude, he pointed out that a search 
on the internet for Albania's National Security Strategy will 
succeed in finding English versions of the document, but no Albanian 
versions. [Note. A few days after Hroni's comments, the Ministry of 
Defense published the Albanian-language version of the 2004 document 
on its website. End note]. 
 
¶7. (U) Various government departments have begun a review of the 
strategy in recent months.  PM Advisor Avenir Peka has told Poloff 
of his intention to initiate a review.  Deputy Foreign Minister 
Edith Harxhi has also shared with Post a draft rewrite of the 
strategy. 
 
THE CURRENT SITUATION 
--------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Since the election of Bamir Topi as President in 2007, the 
NSC has only convened twice - once in September 2007 to discuss 
Kosovo, and once in March 2008 in reaction to the Gerdec tragedy. 
Since then, it has not convened.  The President himself has no 
military advisor or national security advisor.  These roles are 
covered by the president's diplomatic advisor Arben Cici, who 
readily admits his lack of expertise and resources in this area. 
This caused substantial delays when the Ministry of Defense proposed 
a force restructuring plan earlier this year.  Partly for lack of 
expertise, the President postponed review of the proposal for almost 
a year, finally approving the plan on December 9. 
 
¶9. (U) Likewise, Prime Minister Berisha rarely convenes the KPSK, 
preferring to rely on the Council of Ministers to make decisions on 
matters of national security.  Berisha, notorious for keeping his 
own counsel, does have a national security advisor (Avenir Peka), 
but he is a lawyer by profession and focuses almost exclusively on 
the legal aspects of security.  Berisha's political advisor Glori 
Husi also covers military affairs, but has no military background, 
and no advanced education degree.  Neither Husi nor Peka have any 
other staff. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) In truth, neither the NSC nor the KPSK function as an 
effective security council, and coordination of security issues is 
at best ad hoc, most often motivated by foreign pressure (such as 
with the establishment of the International Maritime Operations 
Center).  It is unlikely that Berisha will act on his almost 
two-year-old promise to establish a functioning NSC, as it is in his 
interest for respective ministries to have to rely on him personally 
for coordination.  A good example of this is Berisha's management of 
the bilateral relationship with the U.S. - the MFA has only one real 
officer in the Americas Dept., with the entire bilateral 
relationship effectively managed by the PM and FM and almost no 
bureaucratic structure to support them.  However, the lack of a 
coordination body will become more apparent and more detrimental as 
cross-cutting issues such as counter-terrorism and border security 
take center stage.