Good piece by @MollyMcKew on #Estonia’s plans for total defence. Reminder that deterrence isn’t just about nukes or spending 2% of GDP on defence - it’s about demonstrated will to raise the cost of aggression. #Trump needs to remember that in Helsinki https://t.co/ZYtoTu7BRu

— Ian Bond (@CER_IanBond) July 11, 2018

“…Uhtegi seemed vaguely embarrassed to have told this whole story, but every word stuck with me because he is not the only Estonian who has told me a story about dreams that have focused them on what they need to do. The defense of this place is a visceral, sacred duty—especially for the men from the generation of independence.

***

This, Uhtegi argues, is what is typically missed in the reports about how vulnerable the Baltics are to a potential Russian incursion.

“You know why the Russians didn’t take Tbilisi in 2008?” Uhtegi asked me. “They were just up the road, 50 kilometers or so, and nothing was stopping them.”

Having spent many years in Georgia, I knew the answer to this one: because Georgians are crazy. Uhtegi barked a laugh. “Yes. Exactly. Georgians are crazy, and they would fight. The idea of this unwinnable asymmetric fight in Tbilisi was not so appealing to the Russians.”

He continued: “There are always these discussions. Like, yeah. The Russians can get to Tallinn in two days. … Maybe. [The Estonian capital is about 125 miles from the Russian border.] But they can’t get all of Estonia in two days. They can get to Tallinn, and behind them, we will cut their communication lines and supplies lines and everything else.” That dead-eyed Baltic stare fixes me again. “They can get to Tallinn in two days. But they will die in Tallinn. And they know this. … They will get fire from every corner, at every step.”