Bush thanks Mongolia for Iraq support

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Hundreds of Mongolians lined the streets of their capital, Ulaanbaatar, Monday to welcome President Bush, the first U.S. president to visit their country.

The president arrived in Mongolia on the final, four-hour stop of his weeklong Asian tour to thank the Mongolian government for sending troops to Iraq.

Mongolia has sent 120 troops to Iraq and about 50 to Afghanistan, CNN reported.

Bush met Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar inside a "ger," a large ceremonial tent.

He also inspected a Mongolian honor guard in front of the Government House and gave a speech in which he said the former communist country's transition would be an example to the world, the BBC reported.

"Like the ideology of communism, the ideology of Islamic radicalism is destined to fail -- because the will to power is no match for the universal desire to live in freedom," Bush said.

Over the last seven years, the United States has provided Mongolia with more than $100 million in technical assistance and training for democratic and economic reforms.

U.S. officials also helped draft the country's constitution in 1992 and have helped in voter education and other pro-democracy projects, the BBC reported.