It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

THE MARMOT ON THE MONGOLS IN IRAQ. He highlights the interesting point that the Mongol contingent in Iraq arrived unsolicited by the United States. Quoting a NYT article:

Mongolia's offer of troops surprised the American government because it had not asked Mongolia for help.

Another question: do Islamic fundamentalists use the same rhetoric and invective on the Mongols who, unlike the Americans, actually did destroy libraries and museums in Baghdad (and throughout much of the Islamic world), that they use on the "crusaders?" After all, the Mongols came to the middle east after the crusades were over.