Article

2004-08-21 Iraq-Jordan

Iraqi ~~ingrates'~~ footballers' fury at Bush

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Posted by Zenster 2004-08-21 3:19:33 PM|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Pearls to swine.
Ah well, if Kerry wins the election, maybe one of these fine soccer players can fill Uday's old shoes.

Posted by TS(vice girl) 2004-08-21 3:39:13 PM|| 2004-08-21 3:39:13 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 TS(vg), I believe that in this case we have the special instance of real pearls before fake swine. Or is it, fake pearls before real swine? I always get those two confused.

Posted by Zenster 2004-08-21 4:25:33 PM|| 2004-08-21 4:25:33 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Best comment I've seen on this:
Friday's "Day By Day" Cartoon: Mission Accomplished

Posted by Old Grouch 2004-08-21 6:56:07 PM|| 2004-08-21 6:56:07 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 I would not expect anything less from these elitist. Yes they were tortured by Uday but they were part of the elite in Iraq under Saddam. The day we took down Saddam they lost a LOT of privileges. I donât know, but I will bet my next paycheck they were card carrying member of Saddamâs party. They probably are in some way related to Saddam or someone in his inner circle. It would be like asking a former Nazi official after WWII if he is glad to be âliberated.â You would get eth same type of response.

Posted by Cyber Sarge 2004-08-21 7:59:19 PM|| 2004-08-21 7:59:19 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 only three of the team members said this crap - how hard did the reporter have to dig and prod to get the response they were shopping for?

(/cynical)

Posted by Frank G 2004-08-21 8:01:04 PM|| 2004-08-21 8:01:04 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 The article here appeared on the BBC website and is essentially a reworking of Grant Wahl's controversial Sports Illustrated article.

For Americans who don't follow soccer, take it from one who does: Grant Wahl is a known fool.

He interviewed only three members, including the coach who was a friend of Uday's. One of the players is a sub.

These guys do not speak for the entire team. Wahl is obviously looking to make a name for himself.

I continue to support the team and wish them success. It would be a tremendous boost for Iraqi unity if they win a medal and would benefit the Coalition, too.

Posted by JDB 2004-08-21 9:16:56 PM|| 2004-08-21 9:16:56 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 It would be a tremendous boost for Iraqi unity if they win a medal and would benefit the Coalition, too.

Excellent point, JDB. Thank you for the insights. Since I am not a huge sportsfan, your clarification is quite apropos.

Posted by Zenster 2004-08-21 10:32:35 PM|| 2004-08-21 10:32:35 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 Nice spin, JDB, but no cigar.

All of the Iraqi soccer players are "new" and had not played under Uday, so I'm not sure what previous "perks" you refer to.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/08/13/MNGVK87HAA1.DTL
...Although Iraq's 2004 Olympic roster is so young that it doesn't include anyone directly harmed by Odai, the players know many soccer players who were...

As for the team, the majority of players are Shiites and some Sunnis but only 1 Kurd. Therefore, I seriously doubt you'd get a differing opinion of America by interviewing the other soccer players, because of the single Kurd on the team and everyone else Shiite or Sunni.

As for the interviewed players "star" quality, you seem dismissive of one being a sub, whatever that means, since the team itself was formed in 2004. I read that Mahdi Karim was a substitute in a game against Costa Rica but he was not one of the 2 players interviewed.

Here's the official Iraqi squad list:
http://www.iraqsport.com/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=445#16

Salih Sadir scored 2 goals so far and he scored the winning goal to defeat the Portugal team, which was an important victory for Iraq. It strikes me that he deserved to be interviewed and he would represent the Shiite contingent on the team as well. As for Ahmed Manajid Abbas, he scored two crucial goals in the opening Olympic qualifier against Vietnam. Like Sadir, Abbas is on the official main squad and he is a star, and coming from Fallujah, I imagine he would represent the Sunni contingent of players.

Maybe you don't like the comments but I don't think the interviewed players are not stars or un-representative of the team. The coach played on the Iraq team in the 1980's, but he was chosen by the German coach to be his assistent. The German guy left suddenly because of personal safety concerns and so the assistant coach got "promoted". It's not like he has been Uday's pick for coach. He is just peeved that there is no instant peace in Iraq. Once again, his opinions are not something we want to hear but I don't think he's being arm twisted by the SI reporter to be anti-Bush.

We better get used to Iraqis' negativity. There's more of it where that came from.

Posted by rex 2004-08-22 12:51:29 AM|| 2004-08-22 12:51:29 AM|| Front Page Top

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