Iraqi Soccer Team: "Stop using us Mr. Bush"

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2004-08-19 02:11pm

Unwilling participants
Iraqi soccer players angered by Bush campaign ads featuring team
Posted: Thursday August 19, 2004 12:50PM; Updated: Thursday August 19, 2004 1:28PM

PATRAS, Greece -- Iraqi midfielder Salih Sadir scored a goal here on Wednesday night, setting off a rousing celebration among the 1,500 Iraqi soccer supporters at Pampeloponnisiako Stadium. Though Iraq -- the surprise team of the Olympics -- would lose to Morocco 2-1, it hardly mattered as the Iraqis won Group D with a 2-1 record and now face Australia in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

Afterward, Sadir had a message for U.S. president George W. Bush, who is using the Iraqi Olympic team in his latest re-election campaign advertisements.

In those spots, the flags of Iraq and Afghanistan appear as a narrator says, "At this Olympics there will be two more free nations -- and two fewer terrorist regimes."

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

Ahmed Manajid, who played as a midfielder on Wednesday, had an even stronger response when asked about Bush's TV advertisement. "How will he meet his god having slaughtered so many men and women?" Manajid told me. "He has committed so many crimes."

The Bush campaign was contacted about the Iraqi soccer player's statements, but has yet to respond.

To a man, members of the Iraqi Olympic delegation say they are glad that former Olympic committee head Uday Hussein, who was responsible for the serial torture of Iraqi athletes and was killed four months after the U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq in March 2003, is no longer in power.

But they also find it offensive that Bush is using their team for his own gain when they do not support his administration's actions in Iraq. "My problems are not with the American people," says Iraqi soccer coach Adnan Hamad. "They are with what America has done in Iraq: destroy everything. 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?"

At a speech in Beaverton, Ore., last Friday, Bush attached himself to the Iraqi soccer team after its opening-game upset of Portugal. "The image of the Iraqi soccer team playing in this Olympics, it's fantastic, isn't it?" Bush said. "It wouldn't have been free if the United States had not acted."

Sadir, Wednesday's goal-scorer, used to be the star player for the professional soccer team in Najaf. In the city in which 20,000 fans used to fill the stadium and chant Sadir's name, U.S. and Iraqi forces have battled loyalists to rebel cleric Moktada al-Sadr for the past two weeks. Najaf lies in ruins.

"I want the violence and the war to go away from the city," says Sadir, 21. "We don't wish for the presence of Americans in our country. We want them to go away."

Manajid, 22, who nearly scored his own goal with a driven header on Wednesday, hails from the city of Fallujah. He says coalition forces killed Manajid's cousin, Omar Jabbar al-Aziz, who was fighting as an insurgent, and several of his friends. In fact, Manajid says, if he were not playing soccer he would "for sure" be fighting as part of the resistance.

"I want to defend my home. If a stranger invades America and the people resist, does that mean they are terrorists?" Manajid says. "Everyone [in Fallujah] has been labeled a terrorist. These are all lies. Fallujah people are some of the best people in Iraq."

Everyone agrees that Iraq's soccer team is one of the Olympics' most remarkable stories. If the Iraqis beat Australia on Saturday -- which is entirely possible, given their performance so far -- they would reach the semifinals. Three of the four semifinalists will earn medals, a prospect that seemed unthinkable for Iraq before this tournament.

When the Games are over, though, Coach Hamad says, they will have to return home to a place where they fear walking the streets. "The war is not secure," says Hamad, 43. "Many people hate America now. The Americans have lost many people around the world--and that is what is happening in America also."

Look Mr. Bush, the people you freed are exercising their new free speech! They're telling you to got o hell.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2004-08-19 04:39pm

Oh Beautiful!

I bet that Bush didn't even think the athletes would even see that ad!

CJvR · Post by **CJvR** » 2004-08-19 05:24pm

Well at least Uday's Olympic commity isn't waiting for them with whips and thumbscrews when theyy get back.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2004-08-19 05:49pm

CJvR wrote:Well at least Uday's Olympic commity isn't waiting for them with whips and thumbscrews when theyy get back.

And notice how Iraq's team is kicking ass only AFTER Uday got a TOW Missile to the head? W00ty.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2004-08-19 06:08pm

Actually, I find the Iraqi team to be a bit hypocritical in that ad. They're all happy that Uday is gone, but they think that America has only brought destruction to their country.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2004-08-19 09:37pm

Go ahead, bash Bush, I don't care. Maybe he deserves it in this case. But that cockmunching piece of shit who had the balls to bitch about the American army can cram it up his ass. You OWE them, you fucking ingrate.

Jessie Stamos · Post by **Jessie Stamos** » 2004-08-20 01:10am

He says he would be fighting in the resistance if he weren't playing.

What don't those dipshits understand about there only being fighting in Fallujah because they're resisting, and the fighting is what is causing us to stay there indefinitely?

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2004-08-20 05:00am

Heh heh, freedom of speech, gotta love it.

Post by **Vympel** » 2004-08-20 05:40am

Jessie Stamos wrote: What don't those dipshits understand about there only being fighting in Fallujah because they're resisting, and the fighting is what is causing us to stay there indefinitely?

They're resisting because they won't get the fuck out right fucking now, not at some indeterminate point in the future, and they certainly won't tolerate long-term US bases on Iraqi soil.

Jessie Stamos · Post by **Jessie Stamos** » 2004-08-20 11:00am

Stuart Mackey wrote:Heh heh, freedom of speech, gotta love it.

Saying that if you weren't playing you'd be killing American soldiers is a bit more than freedom of speech.

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2004-08-20 11:03am

Joe wrote:You OWE them, you fucking ingrate.

What does he owe them for? The country is worse off now then it was under Saddam....more then likely he knows someone who has been killed because of the invasion....as far as I can see, he doesn't owe shit at the moment. Once the job is done [if it ever does get done], it will be a different story.

Jessie Stamos · Post by **Jessie Stamos** » 2004-08-20 11:06am

BoredShirtless wrote: What does he owe them for? The country is worse off now then it was under Saddam....more then likely he knows someone who has been killed because of the invasion....as far as I can see, he doesn't owe shit at the moment. Once the job is done [if it ever does get done], it will be a different story.

He thanked them for removing their torturous oppressor immediately before saying he would like to go kill American soldiers for destroying things.

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2004-08-20 11:08am

Jessie Stamos wrote:
Stuart Mackey wrote:Heh heh, freedom of speech, gotta love it.
Saying that if you weren't playing you'd be killing American soldiers is a bit more than freedom of speech.

Well that too could be considered freedom of speech, as Obi-Wan put it, from a certain POV -- not that I support that method.

Post by **Cairber** » 2004-08-20 11:11am

The country is worse off? I guess that depends on who you ask. Those whos loved ones lie in mass graves probably are more apt to think that things are better, and many of them in a recent documentary by Jano Rosebiani, an iraqi, ("Saddam's Mass Graves"), tell the viewer just that: they are relieved. The women, I suspect, probably also believe things are better...they are going to school now, getting jobs, maybe someday soon there will be an iraq women's soccer team. The women in the documentary speak out about loving just that...the ability to speak out.

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2004-08-20 11:11am

Jessie Stamos wrote:
BoredShirtless wrote: What does he owe them for? The country is worse off now then it was under Saddam....more then likely he knows someone who has been killed because of the invasion....as far as I can see, he doesn't owe shit at the moment. Once the job is done [if it ever does get done], it will be a different story.
He thanked them for removing their torturous oppressor immediately before saying he would like to go kill American soldiers for destroying things.

Where? No one person said that; you've just mangled more then one quote and associated it to someone. By the way, even if someone did say that.....so?

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2004-08-20 11:16am

Cairber wrote:The country is worse off? I guess that depends on who you ask. Those whos loved ones lie in mass graves probably are more apt to think that things are better, and many of them in a recent documentary by Jano Rosebiani, an iraqi, ("Saddam's Mass Graves"), tell the viewer just that: they are relieved. The women, I suspect, probably also believe things are better...they are going to school now, getting jobs, maybe someday soon there will be an iraq women's soccer team. The women in the documentary speak out about loving just that...the ability to speak out.

Yes, I'm sure they'd trade the ability to speak out against Saddam with security, health care, peace, etc. Saddam was a dick, but if you kept out of his way, you could more or less lead a normal life. It is not arguable that Iraq today on average is WORSE then what it was under Saddam.

Post by **Cairber** » 2004-08-20 11:20am

he killed 300,000 of them, built a memorial to it, simply because of their religious sect. I guess they got in his hair too much by being born into a family with a different religious belief. The women and children he killed in those attacks didnt fight against him or probably even speak publically against him. He killed them anyway and buried them all together. They stayed outta his hair, and this was their reward.

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2004-08-20 11:22am

Cairber wrote:he killed 300,000 of them, built a memorial to it, simply because of their religious sect. I guess they got in his hair too much by being born into a family with a different religious belief. The women and children he killed in those attacks didnt fight against him or probably even speak publically against him. He killed them anyway and buried them all together. They stayed outta his hair, and this was their reward.

Can you please provide some details and a source? I'd like to know exactly what it is you are talking about.

Post by **Cairber** » 2004-08-20 11:27am

heres one story about this series of attacks:

http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/iraq/warning.htm

there are hundred more, I just googled it and got this one and put it up. havent you ever heard of chemical Ali? The mass graves? The monument to the mass killings? You need to see this documentary if you have never learned of these events. You can get it off bit torrent, I reccommend you see it.

This particular story only details one horror that occured during the Kurdish war/uprising. You can google and find many more.

Post by **Cairber** » 2004-08-20 11:30am

http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/4637/terr35a.html

this is another one, you can find stories in the major news papers if you go to your local library and check out the bound perodicals section. Go back to the years 1986-1989, searching for iraq or saddam. Thats how I found numerous interesting news articles for a paper I wrote on this subject.

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2004-08-20 11:36am

Cairber wrote:heres one story about this series of attacks:

http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/iraq/warning.htm

there are hundred more, I just googled it and got this one and put it up. havent you ever heard of chemical Ali? The mass graves? The monument to the mass killings? You need to see this documentary if you have never learned of these events. You can get it off bit torrent, I reccommend you see it.

This particular story only details one horror that occured during the Kurdish war/uprising. You can google and find many more.

That's the thing; an uprising isn't "staying out of Saddams hair". And let's be honest; no government on this planet would just sit back and allow a bunch of people to reshape its country's borders. I'm in no way condoning what his government did to the Kurds. What he did was terrible and completely besides my point.

Post by **Cairber** » 2004-08-20 11:37am

I apoligize for triple post here, just pulled out my research paper, another good search you can do right at your computer is for the a search of the "Anfal" compaign is Iraq. It was another genocide plan under Saddam...one that is interesting becuase it was not hidden.

Post by **Cairber** » 2004-08-20 11:42am

You need to do the research before you can talk about this, I realize talking about it with someone who does not know the reasons for the Kurdish wars in Iraq is pointless. It wasnt just these people deciding one day to get in his hair..this started long before...systematic violence against these people because of their land, their beliefs, etc etc etc. Anfal had specific orders to kill Kurdish farmers whose land was believed to have oil on or near it.

I gotta stop here, I can go on and on. See the documentary "Saddam's Mass Graves."

These football players do not constitute the opinions of all of Iraq.

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2004-08-20 11:53am

Cairber wrote:You need to do the research before you can talk about this, I realize talking about it with someone who does not know the reasons for the Kurdish wars in Iraq is pointless.

Don't patronize me. The reasons for the Kurdish wars in Iraq are the same reasons for the Kurdish "wars" in Turkey;the Kurds want an independent country. For the third time, this desire clearly flies in the face of my point, which was Iraq under Saddam was more or less ok as long as you weren't in his way. Which is still bad; but not as bad as the current situation, which is my other point.

It wasnt just these people deciding one day to get in his hair..this started long before...systematic violence against these people because of their land, their beliefs, etc etc etc. Anfal had specific orders to kill Kurdish farmers whose land was believed to have oil on or near it.

I gotta stop here, I can go on and on. See the documentary "Saddam's Mass Graves."

These football players do not constitute the opinions of all of Iraq.

Did I say they did?

Post by **Cairber** » 2004-08-20 12:04pm

Heres an article that demonstrates how torture and genocide of the Kurds was endemic BEFORE any wars. It is, in fact, one of the most famous essays written on this subject:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/kurdish/htdo ... dtext.html

Genocide did not just occur with the Kurds, either. I consider myself to be knowledgable in the area specifically of violence against innocent Kurds (women, children, centrally located Kurds ...that is, those who did not reside on Iran borders) But there are tons of other groups that felt his wrath. You may argue they "got in his hair" so he lashed out. But the families of these people...those who talked against the government or those who violated other "hair getting into" policies were innocent. When women are forced out of society, how can you hold them accountable? He killed them anyway. Women and children make up almost 50% of the bodies in these mass graves (which are ALL OVER iraq, not just in Kurdish areas). The killing was not pick and choose those who pissed of Saddam.

We should get back to the thread topic tho, before we cause a perfectly good thread to be locked. I just get a little over zealous when I see people contending that an Iraq with Saddam was better off.