Estonia plans to contribute some additional "niche capabilities" related to cyberspace and information operations to the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan but no new troops, said Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo following a Pentagon meeting Nov. 3 with Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
With the Obama administration reassessing its Afghanistan strategy, Aaviksoo said he also told Gates that Estonia and other countries contributing troops would need a focused policy describing "milestones" of progress that should be achieved in Afghanistan six months to a year from now.
In an interview before the meeting, Aaviksoo said "nervous questions" were in the air about the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan.
"Some countries, some people, have started asking questions: What's it all about? Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Do we negotiate, and with whom do we negotiate? I think there are quite a number of open questions in the air and we need to answer them."
Aaviksoo said allies would need "concrete focus and milestones" from the U.S.: "Where do we want to want to be in six months time? Where do want to be in one year's time?"
Aaviksoo said the Baltic country of 1.3 million people plans to reduce its troop commitment to a more "sustainable" level of 170. Estonia currently has 290 troops deployed to Afghanistan's Helmand province, said Aaviksoo. Reducing its troop commitment still would leave Estonia "among the top five contributors per capita," Aaviksoo said.
Aaviksoo declined to elaborate on the additional cyberspace and "information operations" Estonia has offered to provide. Estonia's capital, Tallinn, is home to NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, which has been operating for about 10 months. Estonia is trying to establish itself as Europe's cybertechnology leader following a massive cyber attack on the country's public Web sites in 2007.
Aaviksoo depicted his country's view of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan like this: "If the courage and commitment is there, then we'd like to support that, militarily, politically, but also with training and non-military civil support."
The Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program is ready to test a few components that soldiers may have in their hands by 2010.
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