Macedonia was not invited to join NATO, Georgia and Ukraine have not received a Membership Action Plan, NATO will deploy additional troops in Afghanistan and the US shield will be supplemented by a NATO shield to protect allies from the southern flank. These are the decisions of a "family" that looks a bit dysfunctional as the end of the NATO Summit in Bucharest draws near. As in any family, its members are fighting and disagree with each other, but they show up smiling for the group picture.

The second day of the NATO Summit - which was also the first to be marked by relevant decision making - has already lead to a polarized stage where one would describe the situation in winners and losers. Bush was defeated in Bucharest, the international media believes, while Putin was the big winner even before he landed on the Otopeni Airport. THe German media believes that NATO gathered for squabbling in Bucharest, while French journalists underline the emergence of two different points of view within the alliance, as Bush's allies are said adieu.

No MAP for Georgia and Ukraine

Georgia and Ukraine have not received a MAP. The days before the summit, Americans were refusing to answer the question what would happen should the two countries fail to receive a MAP? They would - they used to say full of confidence.

Bruce Jackson, an influential ally for the Republican presidential candidate, said on Wednesday that the position of Germans and French could be changed. On the other hand, former Russian PM Mikhail Kasyanov said Thursday morning, before the official NATO announcement on the two countries, that Georgia and Ukraine would not receive the MAP in Bucharest but that it was a question of time - from six months to a year - until a decision is made in this regard.

Then came Romania President Traian Basescu to announce that the NAT