When Germany and France and much of the rest of the "Western World" is giving Iraq a cold shoulder in their hour of need, it's nice to see the former communists states in eastern europe have the right idea.

Bulgaria, which has a 485-member infantry battalion patrolling the city of Karbala south of Baghdad, has committed $1 million in indirect aid to Iraq.

The Foreign Ministry said the aid package will include $340,000 in clothing, footwear, medicines, food and supplies. It will also provide grants for Iraqi students to study at Bulgarian universities - an offer also made by Slovakia - and provide training at the Bulgarian Police Academy for Iraqi officers and cadets.

Bulgaria is struggling with its own economic hardships, yet "knowing the dramatic situation in Iraq, I think it is our human duty to offer help," said Ivo Raichev, a Bulgarian neurologist.

Other countries are doing similiar things. The individuals in these countries know better than most about how life without freedom can be. It'd be nice if this got more positive media attention then the nit-picking that's going to go on.