US President George W. Bush, buffeted by unrelenting criticism at home over Iraq, yesterday saluted Mongolia's "fearless warriors" for helping his embattled effort to establish democracy in the heart of the Middle East.
"Mongolia and the United States are standing together as brothers in the cause of freedom," Bush told Mongolian troops and lawmakers in a speech at the Government House.
After two days in China partly aimed at nudging that communist country toward greater freedoms, Bush's stop here -- the first by a US president -- was meant to showcase the first communist country in Asia to turn toward democracy. Mongolia discarded communism 15 years ago; it holds democratic elections and allows Western-style freedoms.
"You are an example of success for the region and for the world," Bush said. "As you build a free society in the heart of Central Asia, the American people stand with you."
Bush spent about four hours in this land of vast deserts, plains and mountains on the last leg of an eight-day, four-country swing through Asia that included stops in Japan, South Korea and China. After the 13-minute speech, Bush ventured just outside the capital to sip fermented mare's milk and listen to the traditional Central Asian art of throat singing.
"Really special," he said.
Bush was due back at the White House last night.
Visiting what is known proudly here as the coldest capital in the world in wintertime, thick pollution hung over the city as his motorcade passed barren mountains, soldiers at attention and thousands of curious but mostly impassive locals. He was greeted at the Government House by flower-toting children in traditional Mongolian robes and soldiers in bright red, blue and yellow overcoats.
"Such an honor to be here," Bush told Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar. They met inside a ger, a white tent, in a courtyard of the government building.
Gers are round, easily packable felt tents that are well-suited to Mongolia's harsh climate and nomadic culture. The ornate one used by the presidents had a red-and-yellow design on the roof and red wood doors. Inside was a a towering, white statue of Genghis Khan, the legendary horseman-warrior and country founder whose empire once stretched as far south as Southeast Asia and west to Hungary.
Enkhbayar is from the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, the former communist party now committed to free elections and capitalism. Bush's brief meeting with Enkhbayar preceded another with Prime Minister T. Elbegdor, from the rival Democratic Party.
Bush played to Mongolia's pride in its military by publicly recognizing two soldiers who gunned down a suicide truck bomber before he could strike a mess tent in Iraq. Mongolia's force of about 160 in Iraq makes it, with its population of just 2.8 million, the third-largest contributor per capita to the coalition.
But the transition from 70 years of Soviet domination to free markets meant the end of economic help from Moscow. That, in turn, brought crushing poverty and its accompanying social ills. Foreign investment is scant and its schools and health system are in decline. But the economy grew nearly 11 percent last year and the country is rich in copper and gold.
Before leaving Washington, Bush bluntly said corruption is a problem in Mongolia. He was more diplomatic on the ground, gently pressing lawmakers to pass anti-corruption legislation needed to bring it in line with a UN treaty against corruption it ratified this year. Enkhbayar was elected in May on a platform of fighting corruption.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS