Genghis, We Never Knew Thee

One thing you notice when you travel around Washington D.C. - there are statues everywhere. Every park has some general on a horse, or some other significant person.

One group in D.C. is hoping to add a new statue to the collection:

A statue of former prime minister Winston Churchill stands outside the British Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue NW.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, the spiritual and political leader of India's independence movement, is honored near the Indian Embassy, also on Massachusetts Avenue NW.

Now the Embassy of Mongolia on M Street NW in Georgetown and the region's rapidly growing Mongolian community would like to add their national hero to the list of monuments and memorials in the U.S. capital: Genghis Khan.

For centuries, in the Western world, that name has been synonymous with a distinctly negative image: bloodthirsty warrior, brutal conqueror, barbarian on horseback. Lately, Genghis Khan's reputation has been improving, thanks to a deeper look since 1990 at Mongol history, when the country's communist regime collapsed. But to Mongolians, the fierce 13th-century leader has long been considered the father of their country, a revered figure akin to George Washington in the United States.

I sure hope they invite John Kerry to the unveiling of that one. You may remember what he once said in comparing our forces to Mr. Khan:

They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan...

At least Genghis didn't sent sexy instant messages to 16 year olds. Then he would have REALLY been evil.