Sports is sports. The Olympics as said by GodGundam10 is about international brotherhood!
There is no reason to ban any country from participating.

imagine a 2008 olympics without the US? will it still be considered a world games event? i don't think so. the US is a sporting power, probably the best in most of the sports out there (correct me if i'm wrong, don't have facts for this), and a lot will be hunting american heads in any sporting event. a gold medal without an american participating (specially if the defending gold medalist is an American) is not as sweet a victory as it is if an american participated. and do you seriously think that if such a motion is filed and is granted by the IOC, do you think the US will allow that? bah, so much for being the only superpower if they'll succumb to that.
another thing is, the past is different from today.its a lot more stable than it was before, i'm sure even you can atest to that.

actually maybe there'll be discrimination because of 'criminal' countries even if they joined the sports. so its a good thing they get barred if only temporarily

I don't think America can be blamed for the wars, at least not entirely. To my opinion, let's cancel all olympics, they're so futile

How do you "illegally" invade a country? There were reasons for the war. Is it justified? I personally can't say yet, but we didn't wake up one day and decide to just invade the middle east.

As for barring the U.S. from the Olympics, I would say no, but it really doesn't matter to me either way.

ye. we should because of our goverment is horobut and is sumthing like that happend pplz might no reallect bush

Illegally invade? Like what iraq did to kuwait? Listen dude, this whole iraq war was a shit-fest. nothing went right. But you can't say that it was illegal. Were there WMD's? i cant say, but i dont know that for a fact. When you tell someone you are going to invade them to search for WMD's they are not just going to sit around and wait for you to get there. Secondly, i'm tired of everyone saying bush is a moron and hes evil. George W. Bush is a good person, he made mistakes but that doesn't make him evil and just because he messes up several speeches he's stupid. You try having to talk to the entire world (yes the world. other countries watch our politics very closely). i have trouble talking too. i dont have a speach impedement and i'm certainly not stupid (not if making the honor role is stupid) but i still mess up when i dont have my thoughts together. Ypu have no idea how hard it is to be president. It's probably the worst job you can ever think of. They have to get physicals every 6 months to make sure they can handle the stress. Look at some of the presidents from the past and look at their picture before they took office, and after. They dont seem to be doing so well. As far as the torture thing goes i could really care less. Just something the media loves to jump on. I know we're supposed to set an example and there's the geneva convention thing but, when our soldiers get captured they are torutred and beheaded. Then their bodies are dessacrated and strung out in the street. So I just cant feel to bad for the few who were tortured (i'm an old school code of hammurabi guy. an eye for an eye). And lastly (the thing that pissed me off the most) "Sadly, i am an American" if you're sad about you're not a true american. Being an american is not just about where you live. Everyone seems to think that. Being a real American means you have pride to be one. You believe that people everywhere should have the same rights and not be looked down upon because of their color, sex, or religion. Unfortunately there are still single minded people out there. We've had our problems of that in the past, but at least its moving (if not slowly) in the right direction. The Olympics should be a game about that, but again its just another game of one-uping each other for the countries of the world. So to anwser your question, no the US should not be banned from the games. I'm sure your response will be that it has happened before. Yes while it was unfair, it happened. So there's nothing that can be done, the best thing is to move on.

Quote: LITTLECHIISAN

"ye. we should because of our goverment is horobut and is sumthing like that happend pplz might no reallect bush."

President bush can not be re-elected. this is his last term.

and a few last words from the movie team america:

America, FUCK YEAH!

Quote by oldmanpooHow do you "illegally" invade a country? There were reasons for the war. Is it justified? I personally can't say yet, but we didn't wake up one day and decide to just invade the middle east.

As for barring the U.S. from the Olympics, I would say no, but it really doesn't matter to me either way.

I know, odd sounding isn't it. Anti-war protesters babel on about how the War in Iraq is illegal.....but how? Consider that:

The US Constitution authorizes the Commander in Chief, that being the President, to deploy forces. Congress gave its blessing, which is required for the President to keep forces deployed for any period long than 60 days. That alone clears up any Constitutional Issues.

At present, no treaty between the US or Iraq ever existed that would make it illegal to declare war against them. Furthermore, nothing from the UN prevents any member states from waging war against other member states.

Thus, the idea that the war is illegal is a delusion.

this is an interesting topic but ultimately the olympics are about the world competiting and we can all agree that america is basically sitting on top of the world at the moment. you bar them from the games and things would quickly get into an uproar and relations would just totally break off. it can be seen as an act of war, even if america sees it that way.

in the end it is not the atheletes fault for their country and its politics. you would just sink as low as the americas who pick on anyone who looks like a terroist.

yeah, America is stupid and we should all ban it because they are the stupid. The olympics are important to policy makers! therefore the olimpics defeats injustice via the YOU CAN"T PLAY strategy.

So easy, if we just separate all the rightious olimpic nations from the Santa's givin you coal list, we know who the true Axis of evil ares!

Well if what you said is true. Half the countries would be barred from the olympics.

And sorry to say this to all you Olympic people out there... Its just the Olympics.

Quote by GodGundam10If history has taught me anything, it is that history repeats itself. During the history of the modern Summer Olympics, which began in 1896, there have been two World Wars. The Winter Olympics began in 1924 and were interruppted by World War II. When the Olympics resumed following the respective World Wars, certain nations were barred from the next Olympiads.

The 1916 Summer Olympics(to be held in Berlin, Germany) were cancelled because of World War I. The Olympics resumed in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium. Because of their actions in the war, the Central Powers(Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey) were barred from participating.

The 1940 Winter and Summer Olympics(to be held in Sapporo and Tokyo, Japan, respecitvely) were cancelled because of the onset of World War II. Japan was forced to give both games back to the IOC when the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937 and the IOC eventually cancelled the games. The 1944 Winter and Summer Olympics(to be held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy and London, England, respectively) were cancelled as World War II was still happening. The Olympics resumed in 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland for Winter and London for Summer. Because of Germany and Japan's action in the war, both nations were barred from participating.

I believe that because of the United States actions in the last few years, such as the illegal invasion and war in Iraq, the torture in Abu Gharib, the illegal internment camp at Guantanamo and many other war crimes, the United States should not be allowed to participate in the upcoming 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. I am probably the only who believes this, but I am entitled to my opinion. What are your thoughts?

Clearly, you have an opinion.

...And a desire to cause division in the one thing where the whole world can find unity. Even the Communist USSR was well-welcomed to the Olympics during the cold war. If you are actually concerned about peace, you should be promoting peace, not division.

Perhaps you have a better plan for combating madmen who blow up innocent people in the name of forcing them into a religion? Personally, I have no intention of joining Islam, and I feel the war is entirely justified. We have been at war with this enemy for decades, and only now have we acted in self defense. ...And acted decisively.

I can only imagine the reason why there have been no major additional terrorism attacks in the USA is just so they can return to picking on those who can't actually stand in between them and the innocents. ...But then, perhaps we should stop just because you an some others mistakenly believe we're the bad guys?

I don't think US should be banned from the Olympics. I don't support the Iraq War and I am not American either, but I agree that sports and politics are two different matters and banning them won't do anything, other than to make the Olympics less fun.

Quote by ChinoMarenoyeah, America is stupid and we should all ban it because they are the stupid. The olympics are important to policy makers! therefore the olimpics defeats injustice via the YOU CAN"T PLAY strategy.

So easy, if we just separate all the rightious olimpic nations from the Santa's givin you coal list, we know who the true Axis of evil ares!

I hope this is sarcasm.

what does barred mean?

I believe that most of you who think they should be banned are retarded, hows that for an opinionated comment?

What the hell....the Olympics is a SPORTING event and not a political policy maker for countries! And as far is I can tell, there has been no country that was banned or barred, for that matter, for participating in the Olympics. The only country that didn't participate was either China or USSR, back somewhere in the 80s and they BOYCOTTED the Olympics!

I swear, you people will try to find any little thing to attack the US. And the funny thing is half of you live there, and complaining about it here isn't going to change a thing! Suck it up, save your money then leave! Some of you say such things just to fit in.....my advice for you is to find new friends! Even Iraqis believe in their country even when it is a state of mass confusion!

Some of you really need to wake up and get a grip.....

I dont think they should be barred because of what America have done. The sportsmen should not get affected just because America have done some stupid moves. The 2008 Olympics is for everybody, and so it shall be. And America is a big country, so there wont be so many pleasant faces if America gets barred.
These are just my opinions, and I dont got so much knowledge of this area. Just stating my opinion...
/afaT

Athletics and politics should not be mixed. You say that several other countries have been banned from the games in the past because of crimes their government made? And that <i>justifies</i> continuing to ban a country from the games? The whole purpose of learning about past events is to learn <i>from</i> them. So instead of complaining about it, we should <i>do</i> something about it. Continuing to ban a nation's athletes (even if they're from our own country) from internationally open games only proves that we've not learned our lesson, no?

the olympics have nothing to do at all to politics and all, do you see geoge w bush or john howard running the 100 metre sprint? the olympic is made up of highly skilled athletes who want to compete others to become the top athlete and to represent there country in SPORT not WAR.

if we just barred america for their actions in war then i can think of a heck of alot countrys that should be barred from the olympics aswell.

No, I am sorry, I disagree with you. Even if the U.S. is in the war with Iraq doesn't mean American Civilians cannot enter Olympic games. And second we are not at war with China, they aren't even concerned with the middle east. The main reasons why some of the places have been canceled in like WWII in Japan was mainly because the world was against Japan at the time for WWI we everyone was against Germany. If the U.S. gets banned so do many other countries like England, Russia etc. We were not the first to invade Iraq anyways... England was.

Event though the politics shouldn't be mixed into the Olympics, unfortunately, it has happened in the past. Berlin hosted the Olympics in 1936. By then, Adolf Hitler was Fuhrer and used the games to show the world the superiority of the Nazis and the supposed Master Aryan Race. With the help of Joseph Goebbels and filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, the 1936 Olympics became just that.
During the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, two African-American athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who won the gold and bronze medals respectively in the Men's 200m Relay, walked up to the medal podium barefoot, wearning Civil Rights buttons, bowed their heads and gave the "Black Power" salute while The Star-Spangled Banner played as a sign of protest against segregation in the US. IOC President Avery Brundage condemned their actions as "a domestic political statement unfit for the apolitical, international forum the Olympic Games was supposed to be." They were then stripped of their medals and banned from the games for life. However, supporters of their actions praised the men for their bravery. I personally believe that Smith and Carlos are heroes.
The 1976 Olympics in Montreal had 28 countries(mostly in Africa)boycott the games in protest of New Zealand's participation. The New Zealand National Rugby Teanm known as the "All Blacks" played Rugby Union with South Africa which had been banned from the games since 1964 because of it's apartheid policy(the ban was dropped in 1992).
The 1980 Olympics in Moscow had an even larger boycott led by the United States against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. More than 60 nations participated in the boycott, including Canada, West Germany and Japan. The UK, France, Italy and Australia supported the boycott, but allowed their nations athletes to particpate if they wished(the US did not), but they marched under the Olympic flag instead of their natioanl flags.
After the US-led boycott in 1980, the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc nations(including Poland, East Germany and Cuba)boycotted the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Romania was the only Eastern Bloc nation that participated.
While the idea of the Olympics is to promte international brotherhood and sportsmanship free of politics, sadly, politics have been part of the games in the past and probably will continue in the future. The Beijing games have already caused controversey and they're still more than a year away. The biggest issues of these games are China's terrible human rights record, China's occupation of Tibet and Beijing's poor air quality.

It's a sad fact, but it's unfortunately true.

Well, your right politics should not been mixed in with Olympic games, Olympics are just games, not a way to win war or win superiority.

Huh? Why should they be barred? My dad likes the Olympic very much but I don't watch it so I don't know what happen.
If the US administration did any unfair thing on the Olympic then I don't think they should be barred. Because well, just give them another chance, change other players or other coach to avoid that happen. If it happens again then no more chance.