Iraqi Soccer Team Speaks Out

Bush is taking credit for the Iraqi soccer team appearance in the Olympics. In fact one of his campaign ads features the flags of Iraq and Afghanistan as a narrator says, "At this Olympics there will be two more free nations -- and two fewer terrorist regimes."

What do you suppose the Iraqi soccer team has to say about Bush and the American occupation of Iraq? Sports Illustrated has a scathing report here.

'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."'

'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?"'