Brussels, Belgium ? NATO agreed Wednesday to take command of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.

Ambassadors for the 19 alliance members approved requests that it run a command headquarters for the ongoing operation in the Afghan capital, Kabul, said NATO spokesman Yves Brodeur.

Germany asked NATO take over the mission — now under joint Dutch-German command — for the sake of continuity.

“There was a growing problem in having to switch command every six months, and there are only a limited number of nations that can lead such a mission,” said Brodeur. “The enlarged NATO role is going to help overcome this problem.”