Nicholas Evan Sarantakes is associate professor in the strategy and policy department at the U.S. Naval War College. He is the author of Dropping the Torch: Jimmy Carter, the Olympic Boycott, and the Cold War, from which this article was adapted. (The views expressed here are his alone and do not represent the policy of the U.S. Navy or the Department of Defense.)
Muhammad Ali was exhausted as he clambered from a plane on a tarmac in Tanzania as the waiting throng exploded with enthusiasm. “ALI, ALI, ALI,” the crowd chanted. By all appearances, the former champion’s arrival in Dar es Salaam looked familiar enough: exactly like the humanitarian missions to which the boxer had become accustomed. But this was different, and Ali—who had been doing charity work in India the day before—was groggy. Worst of all, he was unsure about why he was even there.
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