Rumsfeld promotes peacekeeping in Mongolia

Rumsfeld promotes peacekeeping in Mongolia

Robert Burns, AP Military Writer | October 22, 2005

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia --Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld stopped briefly in this former communist nation Saturday to encourage its efforts to build a peacekeeping force with global reach.

Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts "If there's anything that's clear in the 21st century it's that the world needs peacekeepers," Rumsfeld told a joint news conference with his Mongolian counterpart, Tserenkhuu Sharavdorj.

The two stood before a white, life-size statue of Genghis Khan, the ferocious horseman who rampaged across Asia and whose image is now used in Mongolia to market vodka, hotels and other local products.

"I congratulate the people of Mongolia, the government and the armed forces of Mongolia for selecting that (peacekeeping) as a principle aspect of their military focus, and certainly the United States is anxious and willing and ready to be of assistance," Rumsfeld said.
(snip/...)

http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/10/22/rumsfeld_promotes_peacekeeping_in_mongolia/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rumsfeld praises Mongolia for Iraq, Afghan help
Sat Oct 22, 2005 3:13 AM ET
By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent
ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Saturday praised the "political courage and personal courage" of Mongolia and its troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On a brief stop in Ulan Bator, the third leg of a trip that also covered China and South Korea, Rumsfeld was feted by guards in ancient costume, treated to a throat-singing performance and presented with a wild horse as a gift from Defense Minister Tserenkhuu Sharavdorj.

"Your country has stepped up and joined a global coalition of countries in the war on terror," he told a gathering of 180 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan in the Mongolian capital.

"You have contributed to significant improvement in the lives of the citizens of those two countries," Rumsfeld said.
(snip/...)

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-10-22T071250Z_01_SPI225942_RTRUKOC_0_US-MONGOLIA-USA-RUMSFELD.xml&archived=False

Know Shrub went up to Camp David with some others for a little private chat. Are they all clearing out of DC, for some reason?

WOOOHAH!

:eyes:

Russians pulled out. And now Rummy is going there to get help to fight terrorists??? They need help to build a viable economy for those who want to earn a living some way other than as nomadic herds people.

I was in that capital in '97. There are practically no stores to buy anything. The one store that I was in, called the State Store, was about devoid of goods. What was there was antiquated and poor quality. The "grocery" store consisted of a metal shell with a dirt floor, long tables on either side of the "store" containing the unrefrigerated remains of butchered sheep...heads and all other parts, ancient cookies, a few candy bars that one might see here, a few shriveled vegetables, all being visited by hordes of flies. Outside this building, there were a couple of venders selling "milk" and "butter" and a few veggies. One of the venders was sticking her fingers in the butter cream floating in an open crock and licking it off her fingers as if this was the most natural thing in this world.

Bush should travel to some of these places to see how people live every day without the benefits of refrigeration, electricity, vehicles, etc. Perhpas he might even become "compassionate", maybe even feel a little ashamed for having so much while so many have so little.

But with the lack of material goods, I saw a lot of people who appeared happy and truly family oriented especially out in the countryside where they still live in their collapseable, on-the-go yerts (tents), migrating with their herds as the seasons change. We were told they prefer these to live in because they are more comfortable in the winter time than their buildings. There is very little agriculture in that country although there is more than it once was when they thought it was wrong to eat food from the ground.

That pasty white face. The tongue sticking out. RumsFailed is actually German. He has a lot of relatives in a small village somewhere in Germany. They all said they "hoped he wouldn't push for war in Iraq".

I wish they'd take him back.