From this:

Driven by its ambition to join NATO, Bulgaria has cautiously joined the list of countries that have aligned themselves with the Bush administration on Iraq.

But on the eve of the conflict, despite having confirmed its support for the United States-led war, Bulgaria's name was missing from the first list of the "coalition of the willing"...

Public opinion here remains divided. Some object to the war in Iraq and America's use of force in principle, while others defend US policy as pro-active and as a guarantee of future stability and economic prosperity... Most people in the media, academia and business believe support for the US is equivalent to future NATO membership for Bulgaria, which they see as a pre-condition for entry into the EU. Leading journalists, university lecturers and new businessmen are anxious about the outcome of the war but convinced the risk is worth taking... Others are more cynical and believe the government is blindly following American policy, driven by the hope of receiving a reward from the US and a role in Iraq's post-war reconstruction...

But Bulgaria will also soon be reminded that it lies in the heart of the Balkans and is geographically and historically connected to Europe. It cannot afford to follow Donald Rumsfeld into a lasting conflict with the "old Europe", centred on Germany and France.