THANKS FOR ASSISTANCE TO IRAQ VISIT OF MONGOLIAN

UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000207 SIPDIS SIPDIS FROM AMBASSADOR MARK MINTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR PREL MG IZ SUBJECT: THANKS FOR ASSISTANCE TO IRAQ VISIT OF MONGOLIAN DEFENSE MINISTER REF: USDAO ULAANBAATAR IIR 050808Z APR 07 ¶1. I want to express my personal thanks to the U.S. military and State Department personnel who assisted in the March 27-28 visit to Iraq of Mongolian Defense Minister Sonompil to meet with Mongolian troops and make a personal assessment of the conditions in Iraq. I met with the Minister on April 4 (reftel) and, while the political leadership must endorse this, the Defense Minister's visit appears to have set the stage for a continued Mongolian presence in Iraq. Thus, the visit was a very successful follow-up to President Bush's phone call to his Mongolian counterpart on March 5, when the Mongolian troops were days away from ending their force protection role and departing Iraq. ¶2. Support for the visit of any VIP can be taxing at the best of times, much less supporting a smooth visit to a war zone. This visit also had its hiccups outside Iraq, and our colleagues in Kuwait and elsewhere in the Gulf worked hard to ensure that Defense Minister Sonompil's journey was facilitated. He was very appreciative of your efforts. Well done. ¶3. Some personnel we can cite by name, but there are many others that helped and share in the credit. Those we know deserve special thanks include: MAJ Donald Kaufam Mr. DeWitt Conklin LTC Kenneth Cozzie CPT Richard Doering SFC Michael Eastham SSG Thomas Evans MAJ Steven Gambichler MAJ Patricia Keenan CW2 Marcus Khan LTC Duff Mitchell LTC Carol Veldhuizen MINTON