Although there were no known terrorist groups operating in Mongolia and no known bases of support, Mongolian government officials cited more than 6,000 kilometers of porous borders and easy entry for foreign travelers as conditions that terrorists could exploit, and moved to increase awareness of terrorism and to consider new laws. Throughout the year, eight senior personnel attended counterterrorism-related training at the Asian Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu and at the Marshall Center in Germany.

The Mongolian police, the Ministry of Justice, and the General Intelligence Agency’s counterterrorism branch cooperated with their U.S. counterparts on counterterrorism issues. As a result of resource and technical limitations, however, Mongolian counterterrorism law enforcement capacities remained modest.

Mongolia continued to contribute to international counterterrorism efforts. In support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the 130 member Mongolian Expeditionary Task Force and 23-strong Mongolian Technical Training and Maintenance Team arrived in Afghanistan in November. They will provide fixed site security at Camp Eggers in Kabul and artillery training and maintenance at Camp Phoenix. In addition to supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, Mongolia also supported the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. On November 28, the Mongolian Armed Forces deployed an additional platoon of approximately 40 soldiers to support the German contingent in northern Afghanistan. This brings the total number of Mongolians deployed to Afghanistan to almost 200.