WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush on Saturday hailed the participation of Afghan and Iraqi athletes in the Athens Olympics, saying they were now representing nations free from "tyranny and repression."
"At the opening ceremony, Team USA marched alongside men and women from Afghanistan and Iraq, nations that four years ago knew only tyranny and repression," Bush said in his weekly national radio address.
"Today, because the world acted with courage and moral clarity, those nations are free, and their athletes are competing in the Olympic Games," he said.
The US-led wars to topple Afghanistan`s Taliban regime and Iraqi president Saddam Hussein will have an impact on neighboring countries, he added.
"The rise of freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq is transforming life in those nations, and its effect will spread far beyond their borders," Bush said.
On Friday, Bush`s re-election campaign team unveiled a new television spot touting the presence of Afghan and Iraqi athletes in Athens.
"There will be two more free nations and two fewer terrorist regimes" in Athens, Bush said in the commercial, which will air during the Games.
In his radio address, Bush noted that, for the first time, women are competing for Afghanistan and Iraqi athletes are now "free from the brutal punishment" of Saddam`s elder son, Uday, who headed Iraq`s Olympic committee.
He said Iraq`s football team "thrilled the world" by winning its first Olympic game 4-2 against powerhouse Portugal this week.
"By coming together in friendly competition, all Olympians are sending the message that freedom and hope are more powerful than terror and despair," Bush said.