Clinton Urges IOC to Commemorate Munich Massacre

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is calling on the International Olympic Committee to commemorate the massacre of Israeli athletes by Palestinian gunmen at the Munich Games in 1972 with a moment of silence at the opening ceremony of this year's Games in London.

A senior State Department official said Wednesday that Clinton wrote to committee President Jacques Rogge (ROH'-geh) to ask the IOC to hold an "appropriate memorial event" in London for the victims.

A diplomatic source familiar with the letter said Clinton urged the IOC to reverse its decision not to mark the 40th anniversary of the tragedy at Friday's opening ceremony in London.

The official and the diplomatic source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private correspondence.