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Insurgents attacked his family's compound and killed everyone there. Athletes often are targeted because they are considered un-Islamic or supportive of the U.S.-backed government. BAGHDAD -- As athletes in Beijing vie for medals, fame and fortune, Iraqi distance runner Mahmoud Kamil Ahmed competes thousands of miles away for a different reason: to forget. A year ago, while Ahmed trained in Cairo, Sunni Muslim insurgents surrounded his family's homestead in Diyala province, machine guns and rockets blazing. All 27 of his relatives inside were killed, including his mother, father and two brothers. Now, the 27-year-old lives in a Baghdad University dorm,...

BAGHDAD, July 29 -- Two Iraqi athletes will be allowed to participate in the Beijing Olympics after a last-minute pledge by the Iraqi government Tuesday not to interfere politically in the country's Olympic movement. The agreement reversed a decision last week by the International Olympic Committee to ban Iraq from competing because of allegations that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had compromised the independence of the national Olympic committee. The government dissolved the panel in May and replaced it with a new group headed by a cabinet minister. But after negotiations between Iraqi officials and the international committee at its headquarters...

ATHLETES from Iraq have been banned from taking part in this summer's Beijing Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced. The team was already the subject of an interim ban after the Iraqi Government replaced the country's Olympic committee with its own appointees. Under the IOC charter, all committees must be free of political influence. As a result, the team of two rowers, two sprinters, one archer, one weightlifter and one judo competitor cannot attend the Games. "We sent a letter to the Iraqi Government today saying that as the situation stands, today it is unlikely to have Iraqi...

Iraq banned from Beijing Olympics Seven Iraqi athletes from five different sports qualified for the Olympics Athletes from Iraq have been banned from taking part at this summer's Beijing Games, the International Olympic Committee has announced...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The International Olympic Committee has banned Iraq from competing in the upcoming Summer Olympics games because of what it says is political interference by the government in sports. An Iraqi Olympic Committee official said the IOC sent letters in Arabic and English confirming the ban. The official said the seven Iraqi athletes who were to travel to China for the games in August are disappointed by the decision

Iraqi sprinter Dana Abdul-Razzaq has dodged bullets to pursue her love of running, her determination to succeed pushing her to become Iraq's only female athlete at the Beijing Olympics. Few athletes will have faced the obstacles 21-year-old Abdul-Razzaq has overcome to reach Beijing, from a sniper's bullets to a paucity of adequate training facilities and religious and cultural opposition to female athletes. "I love running, I have the persistence to keep practising and I have ambition despite all the problems that I face," she told Reuters at Baghdad's crumbling Shaab stadium.

As president of Iraq's Olympic committee, the president's son was the country's sports czar. According to several accounts from players, he turned his sadistic obsessions on the national soccer team. -Snip- But those were the lesser miseries. Some players endured long periods in a military prison, beaten on their backs with electric cables until blood flowed. Other punishments included "matches" kicking concrete balls around the prison yard in 130-degree heat, and 12-hour sessions of push-ups, sprints and other fitness drills, wearing heavy military fatigues and boots.

AKARTA (Reuters) - Iraq defied seemingly impossible odds to beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the Asian Cup final on Sunday, providing a fairytale ending to the tournament and a rare moment of celebration in their war-torn homeland. Iraqi captain Younis Mahmoud scored the winner in the 71st minute when he climbed above the defence at the far post and headed a perfectly-weighted corner from Hawar Mulla Mohammed into the net. Saudi Arabia had been bidding to become the first country to win the Asian Cup four times but were outplayed by an Iraqi team riding high on a wave of...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A popular Iraqi soccer player who was a member of the country's Olympic team has been kidnapped in Baghdad, police said. Ghanim Ghudayer, 22, considered one of the best players in Baghdad's Air Force Club, was kidnapped on Sunday evening by unknown assailants in the al-Amil neighborhood where he lives in the western part of the capital, police 1st Lt. Mutaz Salahiddin said. Some of the kidnappers were dressed in military uniform, Salahiddin said. Samir Kadhim, head of the Air Force Club, said Ghudayer had been preparing to go to a training session when he was intercepted...

Excerpt - BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen kidnapped the head of Iraq's Olympic committee and more than a dozen employees Saturday after storming a sports conference in Baghdad, police said. The kidnappers wore camouflage Iraqi police uniforms and security guards outside the meeting said they did not interfere because they thought the gunmen were legitimate law enforcement, police said. Ahmed al-Hijiya, president of the committee, was taken in the assault, which came a day after the coach of Iraq's national wrestling team was killed by kidnappers, said police Lt. Thaer Mahmoud. Others taken Saturday included the deputy head of the Olympic...

Tuesday, August 31, 2004 Those Iraqi soccer ingrates Posted: August 31, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern By Dennis Prager © 2004 Creators Syndicate Of all the ugly human traits, ingratitude – the refusal to acknowledge the good that has been done for us – is probably the ugliest. Yet its awfulness is only exceeded by its ubiquity. In fact, it is ingratitude that characterizes much of the world's – including many Americans' – attitude toward the United States. Think about it. Without America: The world would collapse into economic and moral chaos. Cruelty and economic depression would dominate the planet. Vast unemployment and social...

The Iraqi soccer team's improbable run at an Olympic gold medal ended Tuesday night with a 3-1 semifinal loss to Paraguay. The Iraqis still have a chance for a bronze, which would be their war-weary nation's first medal in 44 years. Paraguay made history of its own, getting two goals from Jose Cardozo and one from Fredy Bareiro to advance to Saturday's gold-medal game against Argentina, a 3-0 winner over Italy. Gold or silver, it will be the first Olympic medal of any sort for Paraguay.

I would bet they are glad UDAY and Saddam are gone now huh?!?

Oh how quickly we forget,huh? I am just absolutely disgusted that we have come to the defense of the "Iraqi" people as of today. For the longest time I have been a supporter of this war and still do support it in principle as part of the war on terror. Saddam needed to go. However, all I read,hear,and watch on TV is ungrateful cocky Iraqi's with short term memory problems. Have they forgotten what it was like to be tortured by Saddam's son's Uday and Qusay,if they slipped up on the field of play? Or even worse..killed? Have they forgotten...

I just saw a segment before the Iraq soccer match which was a hit piece on Bush. NBC criticized Bush for making an ad that includes Iraq and Afghanistan. By the way, the ad doesn't even mention soccer. The NBC hit piece had on some comments from the Iraq soccer team. That caused me to write a nasty email to NBC Sports: Sports@MSNBC.com

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...

Saturday 21 August 2004, 11:54 Makka Time, 8:54 GMT Iraqi football players, who have performed exceptionally well at the Olympics, are cautioning President George Bush not to use their success in his re-election campaign, according to the US monthly Sports Illustrated. US media has touted the success of Iraq's under-23 team as it beat Portugal 4-2 and Costa Rica 2-0 and sailed through to the quarterfinals. However, the sudden interest in the team - particularly from the US Republican re-election campaign platform - has irked some of its members. "Iraq as a team does not want Mr. Bush to use...

She doesn't want to be a symbol, either, nor the poster girl for President Bush getting four more years.

IRAQ THE MODEL Saturday, August 21, 2004 Hurray! Iraqi football team won against Australia 1-0 to reach the semifinal for the first time in Iraq's history. Now we are going to play for a medal! Iraq has one medal only in her Olypic record; a bronze one that we won in weight-lifting back in 1960. This is the *BEST* acheivment Iraq has ever acheived in soccer. Strange isn't it!? Not to me! I really expected that despite the difficult life in Iraq that our athletes were going to perform better than ever, and I believe it's the effect of freedom....

Soccer players say president shouldn't exploit their success Updated: 10:15 p.m. ET Aug. 21, 2004ATHENS, Greece - Iraqi soccer players reacted angrily Friday after being told that their nation's Olympic participation was mentioned in TV commercial by the re-election campaign for President Bush. The players called on Bush to stop using them to win votes in the United States. “Iraq as a team does not want Mr. Bush to use us for the presidential campaign,” midfielder Salih Sadir was quoted as saying. “He can find another way to advertise himself.” However, the Iraqi Olympic delegation accused journalists of deliberately provoking...