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Since the time of ancient Greece, the Olympics were designed to allow athletes to compete and travel in peace -- even if they hailed from war-torn regions. But this week, the International Olympic Committee said that Iraq is expected to sit out the 2008 games in Beijing. It's not that Iraqi athletes aren't good enough. In fact, seven athletes have qualified (many more for the Paralympics) and the IOC admits that they will "reallocate a number of Iraq’s qualified or invited quota places." The problem, according to the IOC, is that the Iraqi government has allowed politics to interfere with their national Olympic Committee. To make matters worse, Iraqi officials didn't come to the IOC to discuss the matter. Apparently the IOC thinks that Iraq has a surplus of talented diplomats able to spend a weekend in Lausanne, Switzerland... [read full story]
