Tell that to Turkey who they are turning down when Turkey asked for the help of NATO (BTW Germany and France are only two countries but so far are threatening to veto any help). As long as Schroeder remains in power, then they are getting what they deserve. The German people voted for the man and he ran on an Anti-American/Anti-Bush platform so they knew exactly what he stood for.
For us to pour any more money into our bases would be just flat out dumb since we don't know when/if Schroeder is going to tell us to take our troops and leave. We do not want to upgrade anything and should be looking around at other countries.
There is an old saying Those who ignore the lessons of history are bound to repeat them. Well Germany/France should know better than anyone what happens when you appease a dictator!
There is another old saying: "When you screw with the bull, you get the horns,