Stardate 20020203.2321

(On Screen): After the September attacks, the people of the United States braced for a further wave of blows against our nation which never fell. Opportunity after opportunity came and went. New Years in Time Square came and went without incident. The Superbowl came and went. No attacks.

Many have wondered why. Now we know: it was because the Olympics were to be held here. The terrorists decided they could not attack us again, because the IOC decided after the September attack that the Salt Lake City games should go on as originally scheduled. And we are deeply grateful to the IOC for protecting us.

We know this is what happened because Jacques Rogge, new head of the International Olympics Committee, tells us so. In a speech in SLC he said:

The Olympic movement was struck by the horror of this terrible event. Where the Olympics Games were concerned, the IOC firmly and unanimously declared that these would be held as planned, and that their universality and the message they convey were the best response to intolerance and violence.

Silly me. Somehow I thought the US military had a pretty good response.

Doesn't Rogge understand how fatuous his statement is? I suppose it could be worse; he could have said, "If we don't hold the games, then the terrorists win." But to suggest that the games actually have any political significance is pompous beyond belief. Let's get a grip here, OK?