Iraq footballers attack Bush over TV ads

Iraq's Olympic football stars have launched a furious attack on President Bush after he used them in a party political broadcast.

Midfield hero Salih Sadir, whose goal helped the team reach the Olympic quarterfinals, last night called on President Bush to "find another way to advertise himself" after a Republican party TV advert took credit for Iraq's appearance at the Athens games.

Other members of the team have also attacked the presence of the US military in Iraq. "My problems are not with the American people," said coach Adnan Hamad. "They are with what America has done to Iraq - destroy everything."

He said he had witnessed the killing of civilians while driving to training sessions at the national stadium in Baghdad.

Mr Bush has seized on the appearance of teams from Iraq and Afghanistan at the Olympics as justification for his war on terror.

A new TV commercial for the Republicans shows the flags of both countries and boasts: "At this Olympics there will be two more free nations - and two fewer terrorist regimes."

President Bush followed up the message by calling Iraq's performance at the games "fantastic." Baseball fan Bush - who admitted he failed to watch the US football team reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup - added that Iraq "wouldn't have been free if the United States hadn't acted''.

But Hamad tells American magazine Sports Illustrated his players fear for their safety when they go home. "The war is not secure." he says. "Many people hate America now."