Well, for another couple of months, anyway.
As noted yesterday, the Estonian Defense Minister has been in town for talks with Secretary Gates. Here's what he had to say on Tuesday, according to the MoD's website:
Minister of Defence Jaak Aaviksoo pointed out that although for the duration of the elections Estonia has been the biggest per capita contributor to Afghanistan with two infantry companies, keeping up such a presence is not sustainable. “We have come to a common conclusion with the Americans that our military co-operation in Afghanistan should continue primarily with the human intelligence specialists (HUMINT) and also in the context of the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan,” said Aaviksoo.Which means a draw-down to 170 troops, as noted here. So, um, wouldn't you think the Times would mention that? Not only is there no mention of the redeployment, but Tomkins doesn't even tell us that Aaviksoo's been in town! There's a possible explanation for that, of course: the article is datelined in-theater, so the writer may not know what's going on back here. Then again, isn't that what editors are for?
Just the same, there's some useful content related to what the Estonians are doing there now and a few quotes from the major who leads the Estonian detachment.
You ain't kidding."In general, the Estonian people support our being here," said Maj. Janno Mark, commander of the contingent. "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."
P.S. I take back whatever comments I made w/r/t training and advising that may have suggested that the Estonians didn't fight or didn't know how to fight, as it now seems plain that at least some portion of their contingent is taking casualties.
