Readers of this site know that this author is not a fan of Schröder and believe the German people deserve better than their current leader. However, I will give Schröder credit for supporting the work in Afghanistan. Germany and the Netherlands have taken over the joint command of the Afghanistan peacekeeping organization. Your support is noted and appreciated.

I hope you note that despite previous misgivings, President Bush supported Germany’s request to have NATO play a larger role in Afghanistan – this would have provided more resources to more safely perform the peacekeeper mission. I also hope you note that your current ‘ally’ Chirac vetoed this as well. Of course, this is not really a surprise given Chirac’s history.