Political Ad Upsets Iraqi Players

I'm posting the original article and the follow-up. I must say, in true Shrub fashion, the man and his campaign NEVER back down, no matter how wrong they are. I personally wrote the USOC and a few local papers regarding Shrub's use of the Olympics on his own campaign web site.

Political ad upsets Iraqi players

Iraqi soccer players said they are angered that President Bush has referred to their Olympic delegation in a campaign ad and called on him to stop, Sports Illustrated reported Thursday on its Web site.

"Iraq as a team does not want Mr. Bush to use us for the presidential campaign," Iraqi midfielder Salih Sadir told SI.com through a translator. "He can find another way to advertise himself."

The Bush campaign is running an ad in which the flags of Iraq and Afghanistan appear.

A narrator says, "At this Olympics there will be two more free nations - and two fewer terrorist regimes. With strength, resolve and courage, democracy will triumph over terror and hope will defeat hatred."

There are no images of Iraqi soccer players in the ad.

Another player was harshly critical of the president.

"How will he meet his god having slaughtered so many men and women?" Ahmed Manajid told SI.com. "He has committed so many crimes."

There was no immediate response from the Bush campaign on the criticism from the Iraqis.

The players said they were grateful that Saddam Hussein's son, Uday, was no longer in charge of the country's Olympians, SI.com reported. He had tortured players for playing badly. U.S. troops killed him last year in Mosul.

Still, the team's coach said the ad was inappropriate and that the team does not support the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

"My problems are not with the American people," Iraqi coach Adnan Hamad told SI.com.

"They are with what America has done in Iraq: destroy everything," he said. "The American army has killed so many people in Iraq. What is freedom when I go to the (national) stadium and there are shootings on the road?"
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From wire reports
http://sports.yahoo.com/oly/news?slug=us...e&type=lgns
Updated on Friday, Aug 20, 2004 3:38 am EDT