ISAF under NATO control (NATO force moves into Kabul)

It's an historic step for NATO: the Atlantic Alliance embarked on its first operation outside Europe when it took command of the ISAF-peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan on Monday. The move ends the joint German-Dutch command of the International Security Assistance Force.

On Monday morning, outgoing German commander Lieutenant General Norbert van Heyst handed over the ISAF flag to his NATO counterpart Goetz Gliemeroth. The ceremony was attended by Afghan president Hamid Karzai and Germany's Defence Minister Peter Struck. It marked the end of six months of the joint German-Dutch command of the 5,500-strong peacekeeping force and the beginning of a new chapter in NATO's 54-year history. A unique event, commented Cees Homan, a military expert at the Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations.

"During the 1990s, we saw NATO starting to take on peacekeeping duties, first in Bosnia and later in Kosovo and Macedonia. But that was limited Ð as NATO documents emphasized Ð to the Euratlantic region. But as of today, the alliance will for the first time be leading an operation outside Europe, in Asia, and that is quite unique."

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This move surprises me. I really had no idea this was coming.

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