Bush Buys New Team, Claims Medal

Taking
nothing away from the incredible gymnasts, the medal bedecked amphibians
and the Cuban boxers, the most
incredible performance in these Olympic games so far is the campaign
of the Iraqi soccer team. After qualifying first in their group,
they beat Australia today 1-0 in the quarterfinals and now will face Paraguay
for a place in the final.

It is absolutely unprecedented and almost miraculous
that this ad hoc, war-torn nation could even field a team on this level,
let alone end up among the top four teams in the world. It is somewhat
akin to the Red Sox single A farm team, the Lowell Spinners beating the
New
York
Yankees
major league
team
4
games in a row.

A year ago, Iraq’s soccer federation
had been disbanded, the team had no facilities and no money and the nation
had been suspended by the International Olympic Committee, a suspension
lifted only early this year to allow them to prepare for Athens. Iraq’s
only previous Olympic medal was a weightlifting bronze at the 1960 Rome
Games.

Of course, President Bush immediately tried to take credit
for the Iraqi victory, we guess on the theory that all Iraqi teams are
now part of the American farm system. Why, if not for his heroic decision
to invade Iraq they would still be suspended by the IOC and running around
muddy fields in army boots! However….

The Iraqi soccer team is not amused with US President George Bush’s move
of using them in his presidential election campaign advertisements.

Calling Bush a "killer", the players said that he should remove his
forces from their country immediately.

"Iraq as a team does not want Bush to use us for the presidential campaign," the
Daily News quoted Iraqi midfielder Ahmed Manajid as saying in an interview with
the Sports Illustrated. "He can find another way to advertise himself," he
added.

from Web
India 123

report on Iraq 1 – Australia 0