American Boycott In Afghanistan

their country’s government. But still the boycott occurred, and soon more people and countries got involved.
As the word of an Olympic boycott spread throughout the globe, opinions from athletes, countries, and the media started to form. Many of the American athletes opposed the ban, since they felt it was a waste of years of training. It also affected their families, as they were all excited to watch their family member participate in the legendary Olympic Games. But those who supported the Olympics had other priorities in mind. They felt that if the boycott would support the end of Soviet control in Afghanistan, then they would be behind the boycott completely. They understood the hardships the Afghan people were going through, and wanted
President Carter and his cabinet had been viewed as weak, but the threat and eventual follow through of the boycott restored respect for him and U.S. leadership. The United States also used the “Olympics to further national political policy.” Through their actions, the U.S. showed their willingness to sacrifice athletic and economic success for their core principles. In terms of athletic aspect of the boycott and the events themselves, neither the U.S. nor the Soviet Union won the boycott issue. The Kremlin wanted to the rest of the world to view them as a legitimate and serious nation, but the United States put an end to that by damaging the Soviets both economically and politically through the use of the boycott. The Americans denied Russia the possibility for success in their political goals. The Soviets convinced some of the Western European countries to take part in the Olympics, which “embarrassed the Carter Administration,” but Carter gained support in the boycott from West Germany, the most important country to the boycott, Japan, China, and many other major nations throughout the world. The Soviets managed the Olympics well, as reports stated it was very organized throughout all the events and cities, but by the Americans getting 62 countries to not participate it lowered the total
They didn’t leave until Spring of 1988, when the Soviets withdrew all their forces from the country. No one claims the boycott led to the evacuation of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan, but nonetheless it eventually happened. These Olympic Games were the first to bring together two of the major themes of the twentieth century: Olympism and Communism. These Olympic Games became one of the only sporting events to join the people of the world along with the controversial ideals of the Soviet Union, all in one setting. Roger Rosenblatt of Times Magazine suggested the “U.S. won the Olympic Games without any medals.” The United States, in the end, succeeded in their goal of using the Olympics as a “political instrument” to move the Soviets out of Afghanistan. They paved the way for other countries in the future to use sport for national policy. Hopefully someday the world won’t need to use the lives of those uninvolved to get their own problems