Iraqi athletes banned from Olympics...

[Dissent Is Patriotic]

this is a true shame. Another opportunity to lift the Iraqi's up squandered, another opportunity to show that the U.S. is not a monster squandered...this really makes me sad...on CNN they interviewed an Iraqi rower...it was heartbreaking...the newsmodel commented that the athletes keep training as if they are going...I teared up.


Link
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/07/24/iraq.olympics/index.html?iref=newssearch

On edit...wrong link.

[midnight]

1. Really sad. This country needs to be supported right now.

They let us come in and rescue them from a dictator. Why are they being punished?

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

4. They let us come in and rescue them from a dictator?

You are, of course, joking?

[madokie]

10. Lets hope so

[anonymous171]

16. Well, technically we did.

Should we have invaded? Fuck no. Should we leave? YES.

[RNdaSilva]

2. Non-political?

Ridiculous.

[Dissent Is Patriotic]

3. I think that if Americans saw them on the world stage

they would see that they are just like us. I think the emotion would create a backlash against this administration and a much needed "hug" from the US, and the rest of the world, to Iraqi's.

[Balbus]

20. That would be an interesting opinion...

If the Americans had anything to do with it. But since they don't, it's kind of an irrelevant and, well, stupid, opinion.

[elizfeelinggreat]

5. The reason given -

"... the International Olympic Committee banned Iraq from competing because of what it says is the government's political interference in sports."

Hello? Did they say this with a straight face?

[fishwax]

11. well, the Iraqi government did disband the National Olympic Committee and replace it

with one controlled by a government ministry. I don't know all the ins and outs of the situation, but that certainly sounds like plausibly political interference. They did this way back in May, and the IOC warned them at the time that not respecting the autonomy of the NOCI would result in sanctions.

[elizfeelinggreat]

14. and

who in CHINA controls their country's National Olympic Committee?

[fishwax]

25. the Chinese Olympic Committee is non-governmental

I don't know who "controls" it ...

[elizfeelinggreat]

32. Perhaps this will help you a bit ...

SHANGHAI — After months of warning other countries not to politicize the summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China has come under criticism from the International Olympic Committee for doing just that.

...
International human rights groups and dissidents within China have long asserted that China has deliberately used the Games to make political statements about the country aimed at bolstering its standing.

At home, the Games have been promoted for many months as a national cause. The Chinese news media have focused in particular on events like the torch relay, to promote nationalist sentiment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/world/asia/27china.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[fishwax]

33. help me what?

I don't need help. I agree that China is using the games for political purposes and certainly never suggested otherwise. (Nothing new to that, really--the idea of the Olympics as a space free of politics is but a myth.)

That isn't the same as the government controlling the COC, or disbanding a national olympic committee whose charter and election was sanctioned by the IOC, which is what the government in Iraq did.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

6. ...the International Olympic Comittee...

...banned Iraq from competing because of what it says is the government's political interference in sports.

Actually it's far more likely that Iraq was banned due to pressure placed upon the IOC by the U.S., Israel, and Britain. They simply couldn't stand the idea of Iraq being recognized, cheered, and supported the the international community at large, which they would've been.

We're a dying empire, and it can't come soon enough.

[bdab1973]

15. Whaa...?

The US isn't trying to keep Iraq out of the Olympics. Unfortunately, the Iraqi government is full of issues right now....it's a bureaucratic mess.

[exothermic]

23. Of course it's a mess...it's run out of Wash. DC by assholes.

:shrug:

[Occam Bandage]

18. ...what? Bush tried to turn the revival of Iraqi sports into a PR coup in 2004. He even

ran an ad during the Olympics bragging about how a free, democratic Iraq and Afghanistan were able to compete.

[fishwax]

26. exactly -- i'm glad someone else remembers that

[thewiseguy]

27. Nonesense

The Iraqi government disbanded their NOC, and ignored the subsequent warnings from the Olympics committee. Thats a NO NO.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

30. And who installed and controls virtually everything the puppet Iraqi government does?

[catgirl]

7. This makes me want to vomit

There is no good excuse for this. I think the U.S. should have been banned, if anyone, for
committing war crimes.

[Benhurst]

8. I used to look forward to the Olympics -- especially the summer Olympics.

But enough, already. I won't be watching this summer. And I agree you, if anyone should have been banned for the actions of their government, it should have been us, and, I would like to add, the Chinese.

[Occam Bandage]

19. The IOC does not ban nations for political reasons. The entire point of the Olympics is

the separation of sport and politics. If a nation, such as Iraq, violates that separation by politically interfering with their Olympic team, then the IOC enforces sanctions.

[spanone]

9. but that government is the government we installed.

[thewiseguy]

28. No its not. Its a government voted in by the people of Iraq.

The very same government that wants us out of there. If it was up to the US Maliki would never be the PM.

[fishwax]

12. The IOC isn't the only sports organization to object to government interference

Back in May, FIFA (the governing body of international soccer) also suspended the Iraqi soccer team from international competition for a year, which would have prevented them from qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. That was because, in May, the Iraqi government disbanded the National Olympic Committee (NOCI) as well as other national sports federations, replacing the committee members with their own appointees.

FIFA, like the IOC, objected to that political interference. However, FIFA reversed the ban and reinstated the national team (provisionally) when the Iraq government assured them that the IFA would not be effected by the suspension of the national federations.

[Soul Creature Media]

13. Hate crime goes global

Not allowing them to enter the olypics is a global hate crime of the most serious nature. How can we allow this. We need to get rid of this moral amnesia and allow these athletes to compete. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-6yf2iVaWo Otherwise they are training for nothing and we are all suffering from moral amnesia.

[Occam Bandage]

17. Then Iraq should not have violated the rules. The US does not make or enforce IOC regulations.

[catgirl]

21. How did Iraq violate the rules?

It's an awfully harsh thing to do to the athletes who have been training their entire lives.

[Occam Bandage]

22. By suspending the National Olympic Committee of Iraq and replacing it with

a government-run panel led by the National Minister of Sports. The IOC warned Iraq that doing so would result in stiff sanctions; Iraq said it would not back down, due to non-specific fears of "corruption."

It sucks for the seven athletes, but the blame here rests with the Iraqi government, not with the IOC or with the United States.

[catgirl]

31. Well, I hope they can work something out

these athletes deserve to go to the Olympics.

[thewiseguy]

29. They disbanded their NOC.

And installed government ministers to run it!

They were warned repeatedly to not do such a thing and they refused and rejected to listen. They were even invited to go ahead and meet with the Olympics officials but they even refused to have a meeting.

The Iraqi government should take full blame for this.

[yy4me]

24. Gee, I guess I was wrong in thinking that the youth of the world,

all these worthy and strong athletes were to be treated as Olympians, not as enemy combatants. We all know who was behind this insult to the people of Iraq. No wonder they want us the heck out of there. Our government is like the plague, it spreads itself, afflicting anyone it can. No remorse, no amends, no sympathy and NO REASON.