Op-Ed: Are Estonian Soldiers In Afghanistan Dying for Nothing?

Estonia’s defence ministry has announced that two more of its soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan. This brings number of Estonians who gave their lives for Western freedom to six, out of a contingent of 289.

This is significant because the these soldiers died on the 70th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Treaty between Nazi German and Soviet Russia, more commonly known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. The pact did three things: It divided Central and Eastern Europe between German and Soviet spheres of influence — which also meant the division of Poland; it gave Germany a free hand to attack the West, not having to fear a two-front war; and it made the Second World War inevitable. The Pact was signed on 23 August, 1939 and in less than 10 days WWII broke out. But how does this bit of history relate to the reality of soldiers fighting and dying — for freedom and democracy, we are told — in Afghanistan? The answer to that lies at the heart of the Western alliance system. Is it working for everyone? Will it last? Many in Estonia and the other Baltic States, as well as the rest of the former Soviet lands and the USSR’s satellite countries are not sure, as a recent open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama showed. What worried the nations in question even more was that Obama and his administration ignored it. So did commentators in U.S. media and in the West generally. Which reflects the general apathy in the West for the countries that changed their lives forever, by ending the Cold War. And it has all happened before. Radio Free Europe (RFE) quoted a journal entry by British writer Evelyn Waughin an editorial about the anniversary:

Russia and Germany have signed a cooperation pact. War now inevitable. Went for a stroll.

When the Soviet Union overran Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as a result of the Pact, and took Bessarabia (now Moldova) from Rumania, the Western Powers did nothing. Then, at Yalta, U.S President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed an agreement with Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin recognising him as the legitimate ruler of the Baltic States, and indeed, many other countries. The cost of those signatures in human lives ran into the millions. So the current fears are entirely understandable. More recently, last year Russia attacked American ally Georgia, and stripped it of parts of its sovereign territory. America did nothing. The Associated Press (AP) quoted military analyst Alexander Golts on modern Russia’s philosophy:

In his understanding of Realpolitik, Vladimir Putin does not diverge from the line set by Josef Stalin. Military force decides everything and if there is an opportunity to grab a piece of someone else's territory then it should be taken.

And now, the West is looking elsewhere and demanding the loyalty of allies, in places like Afghanistan. But is the West loyal to its allies? Estonians have bad memories and current fears of Russian intentions. So do Poles, Rumanians, Hungarians, Czechs and Ukrainians. Some of these countries are relatively far from the Russian border, so the fear is less, while some of them are both small and border on Russia, like Estonia. Would NATO, of which Estonia is a part, fight for it if Russia attacked? The general consensus in the former East Bloc countries is “no.” And, if they feel they cannot count on the West, specifically the U.S., to defend even their existence, why should they send their young men and women to die for America? Or France, or Britain? And yet, they still do. Six of them have so far died so that the Pentagon should remain safe from Al Qaeda terrorists. So that New York, London and Spain should remain free of terror attacks. But if push comes to shove and Russia moves, will these soldiers from a tiny country have died in vain? Only time will tell.