Should the United States boycott the Sochi Olympics if Russia grants Edward Snowden asylum? According to Lindsey Graham, yes. According to John Boehner, no.
Graham said earlier this week that the United States should send a message to Russia by boycotting the 2014 Olympic Games.
Graham said : “I would just send the Russians the most unequivocal signal I could send them… It might help… What I’m trying to do is let the Russians know enough is enough. How much more are we going to let them get away with before we make it real to them?”
House Speaker Boehner said that his colleague was dead wrong about his proposed Olympic boycott. Boehner said that a boycott wouldn’t help resolve the situation and would deprive hundreds of athletes of something that they’ve been training for for years.
Boehner said : “Listen, I love Senator Graham… We’ve been close friends for 20 years. But I think he’s dead wrong. Why would we want to punish U.S. athletes who have been training for three years to compete in the Olympics over a traitor who can’t find a place to call home?”
U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Patrick Sandusky agreed with Boehner. Sandusky noted that the Olympic boycott in 1980 during the Cold War didn’t solve any political problems.
Sandusky said: “Our boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games did not contribute to a successful resolution of the underlying conflict… It did, however, deprive hundreds of American athletes, all whom had completely dedicated themselves to representing our nation at the Olympic Games, of the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Do you think the United States should boycott the Sochi Olympics?
[Image Via Wiki ]
