Estonian boots on the ground in Afghanistan

Administrator — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:46:23 +0000

As the United States ponders its future military strategy in Afghanistan, let’s take a moment to consider Estonia’s contributions to NATO’s efforts in that conflict.

Estonia joined Operation Enduring Freedom in 2002, and the following year its troops were folded into the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Estonia currently has 289 soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan, most of whom are deployed in Helmand Province, where fighting is fierce. Estonia’s Afghan contingent represents 10 percent of its full-time armed forces, making Estonia the largest per-capita military contributor to the ISAF effort. Six Estonian soldiers have died in Afghanistan, a casualty rate, as a percentage of the population, approximately double that of the U.S.

Some vivid on-the-ground reporting from a journalist embedded with Estonian troops in Masood appears in today’s Washington Times.

Estonia also provides non-military support to Afghanistan, including $1.5 million in development aid that has contributed pediatric medical equipment, an oxygen delivery system for the largest hospital in Helmand Province, and funding for a library facility at Kabul University.

Why is Estonia so committed to Afghanistan? One answer is provided by Major Janno Mark, commander of the Estonian contingent. He is quoted in the Washington Times article:

“The people in Estonia understand we’re a member of NATO. We can’t just consume security; we have to contribute to it …. Looking at who is our neighbor, you can understand why we have to be a good and active member.”

Major Marks’s perspective is shared by many Estonians: the belief that the country’s investment in Afghanistan today will pay dividends, in the form of adherence on the part of other NATO members to their Article 5 commitments, in the event of any future Russian threats to the Baltics.

Back on the Map: bonus features coming soon

Administrator — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:16:24 +0000

This web log was conceived to serve two complementary purposes: to promote across the English-language blogosphere an awareness of and appreciation for developments in contemporary Estonia, and to serve as a real-time supplement to my book, Back on the Map: Adventures in Newly Independent Estonia.

With a focus on the second purpose I’m preparing to roll out, in the “back pages” of this blog, a series of supplementary Back on the Map “bonus features”. Here are a few of the items on their way:

The playlist: a list of the songs that were popular in Estonia in 1992 and that served as the soundtrack to my adventures
The album: photographs and mementos from my stay in Tallinn and travels around the former Soviet Union
The lost chapters: adventures in Russia and Lithuania that didn’t quite make it into the book

Stay tuned; details will be posted soon!

Estonia on the Map » russia

Estonian boots on the ground in Afghanistan

Back on the Map: bonus features coming soon