According to the speaker, the first modern Olympic Games were held as an international competition.

The modern Olympic Games began in Athens in 1896 as a result of the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator whose desire was to promote international understanding through athletics. Nine nations participated in the first Games; over 100 nations currently compete.

The Clinton administration has signaled its opposition to a 1985 law that bans most US aid to Pakistan because of its nuclear program. A US State Department spokesman said the law does not advance the US goal of stopping the spread of nuclear weapons in South Asia.