April 15, 1980
Page 7764
OLYMPICS
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Mr. President, I wish to congratulate the U.S. Olympic Committee for the courageous step it took this past weekend in deciding not to attend the Moscow Olympics.
This is the first time the U.S. committee has ever turned down an invitation to attend the Olympics. The Olympics happen only twice a decade and they are the premier events of the sports world.
The U.S. Olympic Committee has affirmed that the Olympics stand for far more than personal achievement and momentary glory. Above all, the Olympics stand for peace, and no country should be allowed to use the Olympics to undermine peace.
The delegates of the U.S. Olympic Committee voted overwhelmingly, two to one, not to send a team to Moscow. The delegates, representing athletes all over the country, voted in the interests of world peace — against their immediate personal concerns.
In my view, this unselfish act by the U.S. Olympic Committee is the single strongest statement of disapproval of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
The committee's action is extremely important to the American people. At a time when many Americans are being asked to make sacrifices because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, when our economy is in an uncertain state and when the hostage situation in Iran is ever more frustrating, the Olympic Committee's action is a clear signal of resolve and perseverance.
The committee's decision also has very significant consequences abroad. In both athletics and foreign policy, the U.S. Olympic Committee stands as an example of responsible leadership. No national Olympic committee can ignore the standard set by the U.S. Olympic Committee.
As soon as word of the decision went out, support for the boycott accelerated throughout the world. Olympic committee officials in a number of countries already have said that the U.S. committee's vote will strongly affect the decisions of their own national Olympic committees.
A word should be said about the Olympic movement.
The boycott movement is not an indictment of the Olympics. If anything, the boycott movement is an affirmation of the Olympic movement, for the boycott seeks to affirm the Olympic goal of peaceful competition among peace-loving nations.
Our Nation must be careful to make this distinction, and we must be prepared to support our own Olympic athletes. American business should not waiver in its exemplary support of the U.S. Olympic Committee. The American people and the U.S. Congress will want to do everything they can to encourage the success of the Olympic movement in the United States, including the success of the 1984 summer Olympic games in Los Angeles.
The U.S. Olympic Committee has fulfilled its responsibility. Our eyes now turn to other nations and their Olympic committees, whose stake in a firm response to the invasion of Afghanistan is no less than our own. We particularly look for an encouraging response from our allies in Western Europe and from Japan.
Finally, the U.S. Committee's vote is important in the context of history. Throughout public debate on the boycott, there have been references to the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which were used by Adolph Hitler as a show of public support for his Nazi regime. In retrospect, our participation in those Olympics seems unwise. The decision by the U.S. Olympic Committee demonstrates that mankind can learn from history. In taking this step, the U.S. Committee itself has made history.
In closing, I submit for the RECORD a copy of a letter which I — along with other Senators — sent to the U.S. Olympic Committee before the vote was taken.
As the Olympic committees of other nations consider the boycott, I hope they will take note of the concerns expressed in this letter.
I ask unanimous consent that the letter be printed in the RECORD at this point.
There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
U.S. SENATE,
OFFICE OF THE MAJORITY LEADER,
Washington, D.C.,
April 2, 1980.
Mr. ROBERT J. KANE,
President, USOC,
Teagle Hall,
Cornell University,
Ithaca, N.Y.
DEAR Mr. KANE: We are writing you to register our strong conviction that the United States Olympic Committee should not participate in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
The Senate and House of Representatives, by overwhelming majorities of 88-4 and 386-12, have adopted resolutions to this effect. The resolutions asked that no United States team go to Moscow, unless Soviet troops were promptly withdrawn from Afghanistan. The invading troops have not been withdrawn; on the contrary, all evidence points to a buildup of Soviet forces.
Congress and the American people are appalled by the massive Soviet invasion; by the elimination of Afghanistan's Head of State; by the installation of a submissive puppet government; and by the brutal suppression of the country's Moslem nationalists. It is a plain violation of international law. It is a direct threat to the security of the nations of the region around Afghanistan, to the national security of the United States, and to world peace.
The Olympics should be a celebration of peace, and of peaceful human achievement regardless of nationality or political persuasion. No nation has ever served as host for the Olympic Games while that nation was in the process of invading and subjugating another independent nation.
Soviet pamphlets have already proclaimed that the selection of Moscow indicates world recognition of the correctness of Soviet foreign policy and of Soviet contributions to peace. If the United States and other independent nations send national teams to Moscow, the Soviets will tell their people that, notwithstanding the public disapproval of the invasion by the great majority of the Governments of the world, the people of the world are on their side.
We must show that the people of the United States disapprove what the Soviets have done, and that we will not let our athletes be used as pawns for Soviet propaganda. We cannot permit the Soviet Union to think it will be "business as usual" with the rest of the world after the invasion. We must not let the Olympics be exploited by the Soviets.
We, therefore, are totally opposed to the participation of U.S. athletes in the Moscow Games in any shape, form or fashion.
We look to the USOC and its constituent bodies for leadership on this issue. With a strong vote against going to Moscow, you can provide the example around which other nations will rally.
Last February, the officers of the United States Olympic Committee publicly announced that the Committee would accept any decision the President made in the light of his analysis of what is best for the country. The President has made his decision that to send a team is contrary to the national interest. The Congress has joined in that decision. We urge you to support that decision.
Any other outcome would create widespread doubt throughout the world about the national will of the United States and its resolve to defend its national interests.
We are dedicated to the tradition of the Olympics and to the preservation of the Games. We are determined to do, and will do, everything within our power to assure that they will be held in 1984 — and in ensuing years — under circumstances that will invite and encourage the participation of all nations.
Sincerely,
Robert C. Byrd, Daniel K. Inouye, John C. Stennis, Howard W. Cannon, Edmund S. Muskie, Alan Cranston, Jacob K. Javits, Bob Packwood, and Frank Church.