Hadley dismisses calls for Oly boycott

[Jeremy]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200....ap/index.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- It would be a "cop-out" for countries to skip the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics as a way of protesting China's crackdown in Tibet, President Bush's national security adviser said Sunday.

The kind of "quiet diplomacy" that the U.S. is practicing is a better way to send a message to China's leaders rather than "frontal confrontation," Stephen Hadley said.





President Bush has given no indication he will skip the event. "I don't view the Olympics as a political event," Bush said this past week. "I view it as a sporting event." The White House has not yet said whether he will attend the opening ceremony on Aug. 8.

"We haven't worked out the details of his schedule at this point in time, but from his vantage point, if you listen to what he has said, he has no reason not to go," Hadley said in broadcast interviews Sunday. "Because what he has said is we need to be using diplomacy."

Calling a boycott "a bit of a red herring," Hadley added: "I think unfortunately a lot of countries say, 'Well, if we say that we are not going to the opening ceremonies we check the box on Tibet.' That's a cop-out.

"If other countries are concerned about that, they ought to do what we are doing through quiet diplomacy, send a message clearly to the Chinese that this is an opportunity with the whole world watching, to show that they take into account and are determined to treat their citizens with dignity and respect. They would put pressure on the Chinese authorities quietly to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama and use this as an opportunity help resolve that situation," he said.

Critics of China say that were Bush to avoid the opening ceremony, it would send a powerful signal of international anger over China's violent response to demonstrating Buddhist monks in Tibet.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will not attend the opening ceremonies.

Bush is going the Olympics to show support for the American team and all the participating athletes, Hadley said. At the same time, he is relying on "his own personal diplomacy" in dealings directly with Chinese officials.

In a telephone call March 26, Bush pushed China's president, Hu Jintao, about the violence in Tibet, a necessity for restraint and a need for China to consult with representatives of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leaders, the White House said.

"We have a lot of leverage on the Chinese. We are using it in a constructive, diplomatic way. And it's a lot greater leverage than just the issue of whether he goes to an opening ceremony or not," Hadley said. "The whole international community has leverage. They ought to be using it now, not letting themselves off the hook by simply saying, 'Well, we won't go to the opening ceremonies."'

China has defended its use of force against anti-Chinese protesters in Tibet, describing demonstrations as riots and violent crimes. The uprising is the most sustained against Chinese rule in almost two decades. It has put Beijing's human rights record in the spotlight, embarrassing a Communist leadership that had hoped for a smooth run-up to the Olympics.

In their conversation, Bush "raised the issue of human rights, he raised the issue of what's going on in Tibet and he sent a very clear message that he believes it's in the interest of Chinese authorities for them to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama," Hadley said.

Asked whether confronting the Beijing government about Tibet in public was counterproductive, Hadley said: "It's an issue of the Chinese government. It's also an issue of the Chinese people who are very invested in the Olympics, who see it as a coming of age for China. And so it's a balancing here. We think that it is very important to deal with the Tibet issue. But we think the best way to do that is through the kind of diplomacy we have been undertaking, not by the kind of frontal confrontation that's being suggested by some."

Hadley spoke on "Fox News Sunday" and ABC's "This Week."

[Atlanta Dan]

W will not boycott the opening ceremonies because part of (to use his term) "replenishing the ol' coffers" post-Presidency is going to involve business dealings with China. No chance that cash flow is going to be put in jeopardy.

[millwalldavey]

Originally Posted by Jeremy

President Bush has given no indication he will skip the event. "I don't view the Olympics as a political event," Bush said this past week. "I view it as a sporting event." The White House has not yet said whether he will attend the opening ceremony on Aug. 8.

On the surface, the most intelligent thing Ive heard him say in 8 years.

[Atlanta Dan]

Originally Posted by millwalldavey

On the surface, the most intelligent thing Ive heard him say in 8 years.

Do you really think without national pride in your country's team most people would give a damn about the Olympics? If so why does nobody follow most of these sports other than once every 4 years

I tend to agree with the take of Dr. Z. on this:

"Politics and sports should not mix," was the rallying cry of Avery Brundage, former president of the American and International Olympic Committee for many years, whose blindness to human rights was legendary. I've covered five summer Olympics, and the main story almost always was political. The only one I covered that was not was my first, Tokyo in 1964.

After that? In Mexico City there was the slaughter of the students in the Plaza of the Tres Culturas, neatly hushed up by the Mexican government. I remember I had to file my stories by giving them to a Pan Am pilot to hand carry back, because the government cut off our filing facilities. In Munich it was the death of the Israeli athletes by the Black September terrorist faction. In Montreal it was the steroid explosion, the full scope of which only was felt in the German athletes' lawsuits years later. In Moscow it was the American boycott.

And always, I heard the same bleating of the same sheep that I'm hearing now...kill the demonstrations, stay away from the Olympics, and so forth. Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Browne now says he'll skip the opening ceremony in Beijing but send England's Olympic rep instead. Big deal. Why not skip the whole thing and show some guts?

But that's not the politician's way.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ics/index.html

[TroysBadDawg]

I remember when Russia boycotted them it was the year before we did. Back then it was a tit for a tat.

[Atlanta Dan]

Originally Posted by TroysBadDawg

I remember when Russia boycotted them it was the year before we did. Back then it was a tit for a tat.

It was tit for tat but it was the Russians tit (1984 boycott) for our tat (1980 boycott)

Of course the 1984 Olympics were in LA and without the USSR & Eastern European nations the U.S. kicked ass. Those of us old enough to remember rooting for the home team (The Gipper opened the games- Mary Lou Retton - college editions of Michael Jordan/Patrick Ewing & Bob Knight coached basketball team) were not distraught the USSR decided not to show up. Good times!

[revefsreleets]

It's no longer necessary to boycott Olympics to get the point across...the Chinese will be embarrassed internationally by their treatment of Tibet no matter what at this point. It's only made worse by the fact that they make up incredibly ridiculous garbage that even their own people no longer buy, like that the Tibetans are stockpiling weapons and training suicide bombers and the like.

[millwalldavey]

Originally Posted by Atlanta Dan

It was tit for tat but it was the Russians tit (1984 boycott) for our tat (1980 boycott)

Of course the 1984 Olympics were in LA and without the USSR & Eastern European nations the U.S. kicked ass. Those of us old enough to remember rooting for the home team (The Gipper opened the games- Mary Lou Retton - college editions of Michael Jordan/Patrick Ewing & Bob Knight coached basketball team) were not distraught the USSR decided not to show up. Good times!

Definately. It was a cakewalk in 84. Would Mary Lou have become america's sweetheart if there was no USSR boycott? I doubt it.

That boycott affected so many more athletes than ours did in '80.