Afghanistan - Is NATO Confidence in Question? German Chancellor Angela Merkel has strongly rejected criticism levelled at her country by EU and NATO leaders. In an address to parliament, she said she would not accept premature judgements from anyone, either within Germany or abroad. She said she had delivered the same unambiguous message to NATO Secretary-General Fogh Rasmussen.   The criticism was prompted by an airstrike on two fuel tankers in Afghanistan. The tankers had fallen into the hands of the Taliban. Dozens of people were killed in the strike, which was ordered by a German officer. The Chancellor said she deeply regretted any harm done to civilians and pledged her full support for investigations into the incident. She promised Germany would not try to gloss over any facts. Merkel went on to say that she was disappointed by the lack of solidarity displayed by fellow members of the NATO-led alliance in Afghanistan. The US of all countries have criticized the airstrike, saying it has endangered its new security-based strategy - a strategy Germany had also signed up to. Both the British and French foreign ministers have criticised Germany’s role in ordering the attack and called for a comprehensive investigation. The spat has exposed frayed nerves within the alliance. Maintaining security in the Hindu Kush region is a serious test of NATO's coherence. Everyone agrees that Afghanistan should not be allowed to fall back into the hands of terrorists. But there are differing opinions as to how to best prevent that. What do you think? Write to us at: Quadriga@dw-world.de ----------------------------------------------------------- Our guests were: Tom Goeller – a German native - is the Berlin correspondent for the "Washington Times". After studying American History, he embarked on a career in journalism in 1986. Goeller worked for newspapers, such as "Die Welt", and the German public TV network ARD. He specialises in international relations,...