Posted on 08/21/2004 3:21:08 PM PDT by SanFranRepublican
Even Howard Dean's heart had to skip a beat when the Iraqi athletes walked in to Santiago Calatrava's magnificent stadium at the Olympics opening ceremony. Boy, did they look happy. Genuinely happy. Compare their elation--reaching toward he crowd, tapping their hearts--with the athletes from Iran or Saudi Arabia, who had that smile-or-disappear look Olympic athletes forlornly wore when they represented the Soviet Union or the "Eastern bloc" nations. In a word, the Iraqis looked free.
These Olympians have one thing in common: They come from the nations the U.S. has liberated since the end of World War II.
Across the past half century, the United States used the power of its soldiers, its financial power or its diplomatic power to liberate these people from authoritarian and totalitarian governments or invaders. Save perhaps for Cubans, there will be no defections to the U.S. at these Games. It is no longer fair sport to root against athletes from Communist Poland and Hungary. These two nations are now U.S. allies; their soldiers fight in Iraq alongside Americans.
Afghanistan's first election is scheduled for October 9. Iraq's is in January. We can expect the members of Iraq's soccer team, the miracle story of these Olympics, to return home to cast votes in their nation's first free election. Formerly they went home to be tortured by Uday Hussein, whom the U.S. recently killed.
How many nations have free France and free Germany liberated since 1945?
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Iraq is just two games from getting the Gold in soccer. Of course the biggest prize is not having to worry about Uday beating the crap out of them after the Games are over.
The trainer of Iraq must be immediately replaced.
I wonder how many Freepers agree (as I do) with these three paragraphs, further down:
Let us consider Nedzad Fazliga, the 36-year-old flagbearer for Bosnia-Herzegovina. He is old enough to remember the friends who didn't survive the internecine war that burned in a corner of Europe for years until the U.S. sent in troops. Here is the official reason why the U.S. entered that war:
"Over the last four years, a quarter of a million Bosnians have been killed, more than half of Bosnia's people have been driven from their homes, a million of them are still refugees. We have seen parents divided from their children, children deprived of their dreams, people caged like animals in concentration camps, women and young girls subject to systematic rape. We have seen unbelievable horrors. But now we have a chance to end this misery for good, and we have a responsibility to act." That was President Bill Clinton, Dec. 2, 1995.
Here's President Bush speaking this week: "A free and peaceful Iraq and a free and peaceful Afghanistan will be powerful examples in a part of the world that is desperate for freedom. Free countries do not export terror. Free countries do not stifle the dreams of their citizens."
Why didn't Bill Clinton act when even worse atrocities were happening in Rwanda just a year before? Because it was mid-term election year.
| Coalition of the Willing | 251 |
| Commies/Despots/Axis of Evil | 85 |
| Appeasers/Surrender Monkeys | 82 |
| Unknown | 11 |
To his eternal discredit, he did nothing.
Because it was mid-term election year.
He was and is a crude narcissist never capable of expending political capital in a way that would harm his political fortunes.
Sort of on topic, I just saw the Bush/Cheney ad with clips from the Olympics. It is truly beautiful.
I'm curious as to what the non-Fallujah players think about us.
I'm not surprised SI finds the most anti-Bush players and only reports on what they have to say.
The Sports media is far more leftist than the News media, and that's saying a lot.
Is it? I'm not a sports fan, so I wouldn't know. I would think, however, that sports media would be non-political, but if it was political it would be conservative.
Oh, come on. Bill says he was never told genocide was going on in Rwanda. Hands up if you believe him. Hmmm, I don't see any hands.
For the most part, it is non-political.
But, when they do delve into peripherally political issues, they're very leftist. Especially Sports Illustrated.
AP reported their goal as the "invaded and war-torn country of Iraq".
Yes, I sent them a little msg they won't soon forget .. I was nice! Sorta!
And .. KERRY is cut from the same piece of cloth.
LOL He'd have known about it if it had been tatooed on the back of Monica's neck.
I wouldn't mind knowing if their sentiment is unified against us, or split. Since only two? guys have been quoted that I am aware of there is a chance they aren't unified in opinion. Otherwise I would think the media would be having a field day quoting every single person.
Even if every member is from Fulujah I'm still proud we were a part of why they are free. That expression they had when they came in the stadium was the look of freedom, undeniable. Everyone includes those in opposition to Iraq know the people responsible for that freedom.
Or on the top of her head.
Great summary! If you do this again at the end, please cc me. I’d like to incorporate it into some kind of editorial for why we don’t have more support in the Iraq war. (Everyone capable is helping.)
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