Operation MIAS
Encyclopedia
An arms-reduction mission run by the American Central Intelligence Agency
, Operation MIAS (Missing in Action Stingers) was tasked with buying back
Stinger missile
s given to the Mujahideen
to fight the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Information about the program remains classified
, although information has been gleaned from media accounts and government officials speaking off the record.
ian arms dealers anxious to capitalise on the break-up of the Soviet Union
and impending battles among satellite states, as well as drug dealers looking for artillery to fend off aircraft in their space.
The price of a Stinger was estimated at $300,000. Other sources suggested that the weapons, which cost $20,000 to produce, were only selling for $100,000 on the black market, still much higher than the $70,000 that the CIA initially offered Afghans to turn them over.
In 1993, the CIA approached Congress noting that they required an additional $55 million to buy back the weapons, noting that a failure to secure the missiles could result in attacks against American civil aircraft.
had given Somali National Alliance
leader Hussein Aideed in 1998.
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, Operation MIAS (Missing in Action Stingers) was tasked with buying back
Gun buyback program
A gun buyback program is a program instituted by an official body to have handguns or other kinds of weapons turned in. A reward is usually posted for these weapons.-Boston:...
Stinger missile
FIM-92 Stinger
The FIM-92 Stinger is a personal portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile , which can be adapted to fire from ground vehicles and helicopters , developed in the United States and entered into service in 1981. Used by the militaries of the U.S...
s given to the Mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
to fight the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Information about the program remains classified
Classified information
Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
, although information has been gleaned from media accounts and government officials speaking off the record.
Timeline
Launched in 1990 with a Congressional earmark of $10 million, the operation competed against Chechnyan, Azeri and IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian arms dealers anxious to capitalise on the break-up of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and impending battles among satellite states, as well as drug dealers looking for artillery to fend off aircraft in their space.
The price of a Stinger was estimated at $300,000. Other sources suggested that the weapons, which cost $20,000 to produce, were only selling for $100,000 on the black market, still much higher than the $70,000 that the CIA initially offered Afghans to turn them over.
In 1993, the CIA approached Congress noting that they required an additional $55 million to buy back the weapons, noting that a failure to secure the missiles could result in attacks against American civil aircraft.
Results
The mission was dubbed a "failure" by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, due to its inability to track the widely-dispersed weapons through decentralised groups, leaving hundreds of the devices in the hands of warlords and militants. The Institute unfavourably compared the results of the Afghanistan failure, with the success of the similar program which netted 41 out of the 43 missiles EritreaEritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
had given Somali National Alliance
Somali National Alliance
The Somali National Alliance was a political alliance formed in June, 1992 with Mohamed Farrah Aidid as its head. Its constituents included Aidid's breakaway United Somali Congress faction, the Somali Patriotic Movement and other southern factions. They were one faction in the Somali Civil War...
leader Hussein Aideed in 1998.