From 4 to 20 February, the XXIV Winter Olympics are to be held in the capital of China, Beijing. But you and I are already accustomed to the fact that any major sporting event becomes the arena of political battles. In a situation when the Games-2022 is hosted by one of the largest geopolitical opponents of the United States, the Americans physically cannot stand aside, so as not to interfere with the holding of an exclusively sports event and not loudly express their protest.

Two US senators - Jeff Murkley and James McGovern - wrote a letter to the head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, accused the Chinese authorities of genocide and demanded either the postponement or complete cancellation of the Games, the right to host which China received back in 2015. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman called the accusations slanderous, and the senators' actions were explained by political prejudice. You and I can recall that the United States has already assembled a coalition to boycott the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, protesting against the invasion of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, which did not prevent them from later getting bogged down in a fruitless war in this country for 20 (!) Years. Of course, they do not declare a boycott to themselves.

In general, over the past 30 years, all international human rights activities in the United States have been completely discredited. The policy of diverting voters' attention to the fight against terrorism and bringing democracy to other countries has yielded zero results. It is clear that the United States is not in a position to fight China, so it has to arm itself with sports and throw the most loud accusations in order to dilute the political authority of one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Russia, as we know, is an equally important goal.

In putting forward demands on the IOC, the United States is simultaneously going into direct confrontation.

Right now, 90% of American athletes are outside the jurisdiction of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and the US Congress recently gave itself the power to dissolve the leadership of the National Olympic Committee and threatened to stop funding WADA if the agency does not reform its work.

In whose favor these reforms should be, it is clear: Americans always have money in exchange for influence.

The IOC has already hinted that the United States may lose the Olympic Games - 2028 in Los Angeles, so it's time to look in the mirror and see that the problem is not only and not so much in China.

Taking and dividing the Olympics is, perhaps, easier than winning the right to hold them in an honest competition, but any arrogance must have a limit.

The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.