Iraqi Olympians denounce 'criminal' Bush

Ireland On-line ^ | 8/20/2004

[M 91 u2 K]

Members of the Iraqi Olympic soccer team branded US President George Bush a “criminal” and called for American troops to pull out of the war-torn country.

Speaking after winning their group stage at the Games in Greece, one player said he would take up arms against US troops in his country.

And the team attacked Mr Bush for running re-election campaign adverts featuring the Iraqi team.

“Iraq as a team does not want Mr Bush to use us for the presidential campaign,” said midfielder Salih Sadir. “He can find another way to advertise himself.”

Sadir was angered at Mr Bush’s adverts, which show pictures of the Afghan and Iraqi flags with the words: “At this Olympics there will be two more free nations – and two fewer terrorist regimes.”

“We don’t wish for the presence of Americans in our country. We want them to go away,” said Sadir, aged 21, whose home town of Najaf has been battered by the war.

Another star player, Ahmed Manajid, aged 22, said of Mr Bush: “How will he meet his god having slaughtered so many men and women? He has committed so many crimes.”

Manajid, from Fallujah, said he would be fighting US troops right now if he were not at the Olympics.

“I want to defend my home. If a stranger invades America and the people resist, does that mean they are terrorists?

“Everyone (in Fallujah) has been labelled a terrorist. These are all lies. Fallujah people are some of the best people in Iraq.”

In an interview with the US magazine Sports Illustrated, the team coach Adnan Hamad told of the ongoing violence in his homeland.

“My problems are not with the American people. They are with what America has done in Iraq: destroy everything.

“The American army has killed so many people in Iraq. What is freedom when I go to the stadium and there are shootings on the road?”

The team was glad that Iraq’s former Olympic committee head Uday Hussein, who was responsible for the serial torture of Iraqi athletes, was no longer in power. He was killed in a firefight with US forces after the invasion.

A spokesman for Mr Bush defended the war on Iraq and the campaign adverts.

“The ad simply talks about President Bush’s optimism and how democracy has triumphed over terror,” the spokesman said.

The Iraqi soccer team has been one of the sensations of the Games, winning its group, despite a 2-1 defeat to Morocco in its latest game.

The team will go on to play Australia in the quarter-finals on Sunday.

[Neocon Shavuz]

Calm down. It's a natural reaction.
Any wild animal tries to bite the hand that let him out of trap. Be patient. We shouldn't have cared about these people at all, but it's too late to say that now.

We can only hope that from the state they are now (that can be described by saying "slave don't dream about freedom, he dreams about having his own slaves") having finished barking to their full satisfaction, having finally realized that responsibility for their country is THEIR duty, not ours, they would evolve into citizens of Iraq. That might never happen if that loooong process get disrupted... again.

But no sacrifice of American blood will impress them EVER.
It actually works in opposite direction. If you expect gratitude, stop kidding yourself.

[P.O.E.]

it'll take time to re-educate the populace

IMHO, that is exactly the real long-term battle we face.

[M 91 u2 K]

I dont expect gratitude, but it would be nice if the people from the religion of peace would stop wishing us death and destruction.

[Horatio Gates]

Go Australi! The Australians have been our allies not Iraq. This Iraq soccer team sounds like a bunch of prima donnas and the success is making their heads swell. They need to get knocked down a notch

[ken5050]

Yes..but it's doable...look..my two daughters are now happily married, starting off on life..I still cringe at family trips back when they were earyl teens, and they insisted on RAP music on the radio..all things are indeed possible..

[elfman2]

"The team will go on to play Australia in the quarter-finals on Sunday. "

I hope Australia destroys them.

[SilentServiceCPOWife]

I have chosen to stop looking at the war from the perspective of the good it has done for Iraqis. The thought of our young men continuing to die for many that would like to see us all dead is intolerable to me.

Instead, I am looking at it from the perspective of how it has been good for the United States. We know there were WMD's in Iraq (which are probably in Syria now) and we also know that having a strong presence in that area will be beneficial to American security over the long term.

Ultimately, the safety and well-being of Americans, my daughter specifically, matter far more to me than the gratitude or lack of gratitude from the people of Iraq.

[zook]

It's like a freed slave saying, "That damned Abe Lincoln destroyed my homeland!"

[texasflower]

"I think the reporter forgot to interview some other members of the team."M

More than likely, reporters went through all the Iraqi athletes and only chose to print the Anti-Bush rants.

Yep and the freepers that have decided to condemn the entire team based on these two, who have acknowledged they live in hostile areas is not any different from those reporters in my opinion.

I prefer to wait and see what the rest of the team thinks. These same two have been quoted over and over. It doesn't even sound like they were interviewed more than once. The quotes are identical regardless of what media prints this.

I'll continue to root for the team even if it's just for the many millions of free Iraqis that will be standing with pride before the world if they win. The country could really use a victory to rally around and show the world that free Iraq is here to stay.

[asgardshill]

I've seen this idea posted by others, and can't find too much wrong with it. These athletes can read a newspaper and watch Al-Jazeera, and they know how the insurgency has been murdering their countrymen for the heinous crime of not condemning the American "invaders". They know that dissing America will have no bad consequences for them (indeed, they're treated as heroes if they do by the Michael Moores of the world), while telling the truth will likely result in their families waking up with their throats cut.

I don't put too much stock in these athlete's public words right now. Baghdad (or any part of Iraq) isn't Muncie Indiana, and probably won't be for quite a while.

[texasflower]

You are exactly right.

[mass55th]

"It doesn't even sound like they were interviewed more than once. The quotes are identical regardless of what media prints this. "

Maybe Jayson Blair is working for Ireland on-Line now. Calling in his stories from the local pub.

[getsoutalive]

I'm sorry to say this, but you people crack me up. Did you honestly expect the Iraqis to welcome us with open arms and hand our soldiers flowers? Yes, Saddam and his sons were ruthless, but we have destroyed whatever semblence of a "normal" existence that previsouly existed there. Millions are now without power, water and medical care. Anyone have employment statistics handy? They live in a war zone today.

How would you feel towards an occupying force in your home town? Ingrates, indeed.

I am continually reminded of George Washington's warning against foreign entanglements.

[Neocon Shavuz]

It's like a freed slave saying, "That damned Abe Lincoln destroyed my homeland!"

Unfortunately, it almost exactly what some of them were saying. Blacks who owned slaves, supported slavery and fought Yankees( Black Confederates and Afro-Yankees in Civil War Virginia ). History repeats itself over and over...

[shrinkermd]

The problem is Muslims have been losing and losing big time for 200+ years. If you listen with your third ear to what they say here and elsewhere you will find they want a victory over the West and Western values regardless of the cost to themselves.

The ignorance and bigotry of these people is unfathomable unless you assume they believe they should prevail because of their stupid, backwards perverted beliefs.

[MarkT]

Where are Uday and Qday when you need them?

[Mr. Jeeves]

I imagine the night before some of these athletes got phone calls from home telling them to publicly condemn Bush or they would never see their parents/siblings/friends alive again. Let's not jump to the conclusion that the opinions expressed are their own - Iraq is still a lawless state and the only man free to truly express his opinion is one with no family at home and nothing to lose. Even if the threats are unlikely to be carried out, living under Saddam for thirty years would make anyone jumpy, and easy to influence.

[Paul_B]

And they're still saying it to the party of Lincoln.

[BadAndy]

It doesn't pay to fight for someone's freedom, who won't fight for it themself. In the future the US should only support ONGOING revolutions for freedom, initiated by the country's citizenry. If the citizens can't be bothered to fight, neither should we.

[Hand em their arse]

"Manajid, from Fallujah, said he would be fighting US troops right now if he were not at the Olympics."

Don't worry dickhead, the olympics are over soon!!! Feel free to take up arms so one of our boys who's been saving all of your asses this whole time can put one right between your eyes!!!!!