(From Kos.)

Grant Wahl, writing for Sports Illustrated, reports that the Iraqi soccer players do not want Bush to use them in his campaign. This comes as the Bush campaign has released a new ad claiming that, because of his foreign policies, there are two more democracies in the world. (Watch the ad.)

First, anyone who thinks that Iraq and Afghanistan are stable democracies at this point just isn’t paying attention. The success of both are very much in doubt — and it’s still an open question of whether or not these governments will be democracies.

Secondly, as I wrote on Tuesday, this is the second time this week that Bush / Cheney has been asked to stop invoking someone’s name as they campaign. The campaign better stick to invoking Reagan’s legacy — at least his family is split as to whether or not it’s o.k.

Finally — what were they thinking on this one? Does this administration really think that the Iraqi people see them as liberators still? After the torture? After the continued fighting? After more than 10,000 Iraqi civilians killed? What gall. But the athletes said it better than I can:

From Salih Sadir:

Iraq as a team does not want Mr. Bush to use us for the presidential campaign. He can find another way to advertise himself.

and

We don’t wish for the presence of Americans in our country. We want them to go away.

From Ahmed Manajid:

How will he meet his god having slaughtered so many men and women? He has committed so many crimes.

From coach Adnan Hamad:

My problems are not with the American people. They are with what America has done in Iraq: destroy everything. The American army has killed so many people in Iraq. What is freedom when I go to the [national] stadium and there are shootings on the road?

Think anyone in the administration was listening? Here was their response in the article:

"The ad simply talks about President Bush’s optimism and how democracy has triumphed over terror," said Scott Stanzel, a spokesperson for Bush’s campaign. "Twenty-five million people in Iraq are free as a result of the actions of the coalition."

Guess they weren’t listening.