VZCZCXRO8601
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHTL #0090/01 0930936
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 030936Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1094
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO BRUSSELS BE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0050
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0028
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TALLINN 000090 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/NB AND EUR/RPM 
ALSO FOR SCA/AND S/SRAP 
NSC PLEASE PASS TO JEFF HOVENIER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS EAIF NATO AF EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO AFGHANISTAN 
 
Classified By: CDA Karen Decker for reasons 1.4 (b) & 
(d). 
 
REF: (A) TALLINN 86 
        (B) STATE 31102 
 (C) STATE 29482 
 
 
¶1. (U) This is an action request.  See paras 5, 9 and 10. 
 
¶2. (C) MFA Undersecretary Harri Tiido officially informed 
the Charge on April 2 that the GOE has decided it will 1) 
deploy an Estonian platoon to Afghanistan for elections 
security and 2) move forward with plans to fold an 
Estonian contribution into an ETT in Afghanistan (with 
the aim of turning it into a joint U.S.-Estonian OMLT in 
the future.)  Prime Minister Ansip will announce these 
plans during his speech on April 4 at the NATO Summit. 
Tiido said the GOE is looking for a clear signal of 
political support from the U.S. for the PM's 
announcement. 
 
¶3. (C) Pol/Econ Chief and DATT met later in the day with 
Christian-Marc Liflander, MOD Director for Policy 
Planning, Riho Rongelep, MOD Director for Operations and 
Paul Teesalu, MFA Director for Security Policy to discuss 
specifics on the way ahead on these Afghanistan 
deployments. 
 
¶4. (C) As noted Ref A, deployment of an additional 
platoon to Afghanistan to support the August elections 
will require approval by the Estonian parliament.  This 
process will take at minimum 2 months and needs to begin 
immediately.  MOD wants to have a draft legislative 
package ready for Defense Minister Aaviksoo's review by 
no later than April 13.  To meet this timeline, MOD 
requested urgent feedback from the U.S. - including on 
how and where an Estonian platoon can best be used for 
elections support.  MOD specifically requested the 
following: 
 
-- Confirmation that the U.S. views an Estonian platoon 
as useful; 
 
-- Help in transporting the Estonian platoon to/from 
Afghanistan; 
 
-- Specifics to define the mission, timeframe and 
location of deployment. 
 
¶5. (U) ACTION REQUEST:  Post requests Department provide 
responses to these questions as soon as possible.  DATT 
will also convey this request through DAO channels. 
 
¶6. (C) MOD also confirmed that Estonia is looking to 
contribute to an ETT this year.  MOD noted that while "no 
political decision has been taken yet," the MOD wants to 
begin discussions with the United States on scheduling. 
MOD needs to look at various options to get 5-6 people on 
the ground by the end of the year and start preparations 
for additional contributions by the second half of 2010. 
Estonia has sent several observers to Germany to observe 
NATO-provided OMLT training.  Rongelep commented that the 
Estonian military had observed that the participants in 
the Latvian OMLT are "spread out."  He noted the Estonian 
military would prefer Estonian contributions to an ETT 
(and later OMLT) be concentrated in one location. 
However, MOD stressed, this is NOT a political constraint 
on deployment. 
 
¶7. (C) For both the elections support platoon and the 
ETT/OMLT, Liflander emphasized the GOE's strong 
preference that Estonian forces be attached to a U.S. 
unit in RC-South or RC-East.  However, he noted, this is 
not a caveat and the contribution is not contingent on 
co-location with Americans.  On the election platoon, 
Liflander noted it would be easier logistically for 
Estonia to send a platoon to RC-South than RC-East. 
 
¶8. (C) MOD and MFA also asked for more details on Ref A 
request that Estonia provide IT experts and mentors to 
Afghanistan and a staff member to the RC-S Civil Military 
Planning and Coordination Cell.  Specifically, MOD asked 
 
TALLINN 00000090  002 OF 002 
 
 
where Estonian IT experts would be used, e.g. would they 
be working with the U.S. mentoring mission (CSTC-A) that is 
already in place?  Also, what is the requested timeframe 
for both requests. 
 
¶9. (C) ACTION REQUEST:  Post requests additional 
information on Ref A requests for additional Estonian 
contributions.  DATT will also convey this request 
through DAO channels. 
 
¶10. (C) COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST:  In announcing these 
additional assets at the NATO summit, the PM will discuss 
Estonia's long-term goal to field an OMLT as well as its 
company in Helmand.  Estonia's decision to increase its 
troops in Afghanistan, while not reducing its troops in 
places like Kosovo, illustrates Estonia's fierce 
determination to remain an active partner of the U.S. in 
military operations.  But the impact of the economic 
downturn is severe here, and this modest contribution may 
be the only new assets Estonia can manage this year.  The 
GOE is prepared to accept domestic criticism of the 
decision to spend these scarce resources abroad while 
economic retrenchment goes on in just about every other 
facet of society.  In order to support the GOE's decision 
and help them manage domestic support for Afghanistan (in 
keeping with Ref C priority in the strategic review to 
build a shared understanding of what is at stake in 
Afghanistan), we recommend a senior-level USG response as 
soon as possible to acknowledge the Estonian 
contribution. 
 
DECKER