August 15, 2004

Two unidentified Iranian athletes, blue jackets, stand with their backs to Israel's team as U.S athletes are seen behind, during opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games Friday, Aug. 13, 2004 in Athens, Greece.

Olympics Hit by Crisis Over Iran-Israel Contest

Iran's world judo champion Arash Miresmaeili refused to compete against an Israeli Sunday, triggering a fresh crisis at the Olympic Games where race, creed or color are barred from interfering in sport.

The International Judo Federation (IJF) failed to agree how to deal with the politically explosive issue at an emergency meeting and said it would hold further talks Monday.

The burning issue was whether any penalty would hit Miresmaeili alone or the entire Iranian team, as the intrusion of the Middle East's bitter politics threatened to fly in the face of the Olympic ideal.

"There has been no decision and we are considering this situation very carefully," said IJF spokesman Michel Brousse.

"This has not been brought to us as an issue and until it is, we would not have any comment," said a spokeswoman for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which pledges to uphold the ideal of sport transcending national barriers.

The official reason at the Games for Miresmaeili's non-appearance was failure to make the weight but judo chiefs questioned how a seasoned athlete, who carried Iran's flag at Friday's opening ceremony, would have made such a basic error.

REAL REASON

But in Tehran, the Iranian National Olympic Committee said in a statement: "This is a general policy of our country to refrain from competing against athletes of the Zionist regime and Arash Miresmaeili has observed this policy."

Iran has refused to recognize Israel's right to exist since Islamic fundamentalists toppled the Shah in 1979.

Miresmaeili, who had been due to fight Israeli Ehud Vaks, was quoted by Iran's official news agency IRNA as saying he acted in solidarity with the Palestinians.

"Although I have trained for months and am in shape I refused to face my Israeli rival in sympathy with the oppressed Palestinian people," said Miresmaeili, 66 kg world champion in 2001 and 2003. "I am not upset about the decision I have made."

Oh, brother!
Same old story from these dirtbags, eh?
This is what the Olympics is for--to compete on an equal and civil footing, leaving politics aside.
Knowing the Islamists and particularly the Iranians the way we do, I'd say they came to the Olympics just to do this, that is, to grandstand for the cameras and heap approbation on Israel and if this story is true, that's exactly what they'd planned.
(I kept thinking about the Munich '72 Olympics and the "Palestinian" slaughter of the Israeli team, most of whom were wrestlers then, too.)
And if the Israelis get upset and think about raising a fuss, there's always this happy news:

Iran Warns Its Missiles Can Hit Anywhere in Israel

Oh, and they also don't mind making their newly liberated and democracy-embracing Arab "brother" nations Iraq and Afghanistan feel uncomfortable and nervous, particularly in the their new-found treatment of women atheletes.
Hope you caught the opening ceremonies as I did:
they were gorgeous!


An artist symbolizing ancient Greece performs during the opening ceremony of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games August 13, 2004. The Games returned to their spiritual home with an opening that brought the myths of Ancient Greece back to life through the magic of 21st century technology.

And I felt real pride and satisfaction when the Iraqi and Afghan teams processed in, knowing that my country had a hand in liberating their 50 million citizens from 2 brutally oppressive regimes and I felt the most joy for my fellow women in those countries who've been praying for liberation for years and years!
U.S.A.! Liberated human beings all over the world!


Lookee here! No burkas! Yea!


Update: The Iraqi soccer team has won again!
And even if they'd lost, they don't have to worry about being tortured by Uday Hussein when they get home as happened in the past, because the Coalition permanently solved that problem!


America and Iraq: Friends and Allies
An unidentified member of the US Olympic team waves to a member of the Iraqi team as he smiles back as they pass one another at the opening ceremony of the 2004 summer Olympics in Athens Greece, Friday Aug 13, 2004.