Bush: Olympics show power of freedom

REDMOND, Washington (AP) -- President Bush says the U.S. effort to fight terrorism is transforming the complexion of the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, with the addition of teams from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Afghanistan was suspended from the International Olympic Committee in 1999 due to the Taliban's ban on participation of women athletes.

Saddam Hussein put his son Uday in charge of Iraq's Olympic committee, a step that allegedly led to torture of athletes who did not do well. Iraq is the only Olympic committee in the world with its own prison, a former U.S. diplomat has said of Saddam's regime.

"For the first time in history, people everywhere will see women competitors wearing the uniform of Afghanistan," the president said Saturday in his weekly radio address.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/14/bush.radio.ap/index.html

Dumb Shrubby!

to politicize what should be a non-political event.

in the 1930s, thinking the Olympics will showcase his Aryan superiority. Instead, Jesse Owens blew that out the window. I have the feeling there are a lot of countries in this Olympics who would like nothing better than to show up the US athletes in Athens.

Today's throttling of the men's basketball team by Puerto Rico is an example.

All he can pt. to is the Olympics. He is a fool.

and how are Iraq and Afghanistan "free"?

safety for those women who are going against the religion their oppressors had. (if Afghanistan is handled how Iraq is, they're not going to be protected.)

And we still don't have worthy jobs or healthcare. :-(

Afghan women wearing Olympic uniforms... He wouldn't know the difference.

"By coming together in friendly competition, all Olympians are sending the message that freedom and hope are more powerful than terror and despair," the president said.

Really, ask them if any of their relatives were prisoners at Abu-Graib. Then ask them what they think of Bush.

Bush said one woman on the Iraqi track team declared that she wants to represent her country because someone who represents only herself has accomplished nothing.

I don't get the meaning in this comment...