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| Iraq |
| Arab world embraces Iraqi who threw shoes at Bush |
| 2008-12-16 |
| Iraq faced mounting calls Monday to release the journalist who hurled his shoes at George W. Bush a day earlier, an action branded shameful by Baghdad but hailed in the Arab world as an ideal parting gift to the unpopular US president. Colleagues of Muntazer al-Zaidi, who works for independent Iraqi television station Al-Baghdadia, said he "detested America" and had been plotting such an attack for months against the man who ordered the war on his country. "Throwing the shoes at Bush was the best goodbye kiss ever ... It expresses how Iraqis and other Arabs hate Bush," wrote Moussa Barhoumeh, editor of Jordan's Al-Ghad newspaper. Hundreds of Iraqis joined anti-US demonstrations to protest at Bush's farewell visit on Sunday to Iraq, which was plunged into a deadly insurgency and near civil war in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion. The Iraqi government branded Zaidi's actions "shameful" and demanded an apology from his Cairo-based employer, which in turn called for his immediate release from custody. Zaidi jumped up as Bush was holding a news conference with Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki Sunday, and shouted: "It is the farewell kiss, you dog," and proceeded to throw two shoes at the US leader. The shoes missed after Bush ducked and Zaidi was wrestled to the ground by security guards. He is currently being held by the Iraqi authorities, a source in Maliki's office said. Al-Baghdadia issued a statement demanding Zaidi's release "in line with the democracy and freedom of expression that the American authorities promised the Iraqi people." "Any measures against Muntazer will be considered the acts of a dictatorial regime," it added. But the government called for the channel to apologize. Saddam Hussein's former lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said he was forming a team to defend Zaidi and that around 200 lawyers, including Americans, had offered their services for free. "It was the least thing for an Iraqi to do to Bush, the tyrant criminal who has killed 2 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Dulaimi. "Our defense of Zaidi will be based on the fact that the United States is occupying Iraq, and resistance is legitimate by all means, including shoes." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #16 REDDIT > seems Zaidi's Brother is claiming his brother's act was intended to show Muslim and World disdain for BUSH AS A TYRANT??? ION FREEREPUBLIC > RUSSIA CLAIMS US PLANS NEW MILITARY BASES IN CENTRAL ASIA. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-12-16 22:18 |
| #15 He is rather iconic and symbolic of the arab islamic movement on the whole SteveS. Close, but no cigar. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-12-16 22:17 |
| #14 The guy missed. Twice. Not to imply that one man's specific failure is symbolic of the Arab world's failure in general. Forget I mentioned it. It wasn't my intention to highlight their lack of cultural progress for the last what? - a millenium or so. But the symbolism *is* compelling, eh? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2008-12-16 21:10 |
| #13 Inclement weather shuts down Shoe Toss training center. |
| Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2008-12-16 13:48 |
| #12 Mr. Asif Mahmud, you'll notice that Saddam Hussein not only lost his war, but also his life and the lives of his sons. His bloodline has been ended by the Iraqi people he terrorized for two generations. The fool Zaidi is now locked up with broken bones by the people he claimed to represent by his temper tantrum. While other fools may think him clever and brave, we who conquered Saddam Hussein laugh at a pretend man who acts like a two year old and got spanked for it. Grown men do not need to respond to the outcries of children, nor do conquerors to those who have nothing more to say than, "Look at meeeeeee!" |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-12-16 12:35 |
| #11 War is not a game. So he get his reward.... Thanks for the comment, poster from that thriving and advanced nation known as Bangladesh. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-12-16 12:24 |
| #10 More like Saddam ignored every UNSC resolution passed since the end of the first Gulf War. Bamboozling and hoodwinking the international community is not a game. The "Butcher of Baghdad" got his reward. |
| Posted by: eltoroverde 2008-12-16 12:12 |
| #9 Yeah, asif, I'm sure he'll be laughing about the idiot who threw the shoes at him for years. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-12-16 11:23 |
| #8 I think president Bush was gaining his fame at the end of his presidency. President Bush attacked in Iraq ignoring the permission of United Nations. Though UN is one of the puppet of US. How could President Bush doing this to Iraqi people? War is not a game. So he get his reward. I hope this will remembered by President Bush until his death. http://www.eonlinetask.com |
| Posted by: asif 2008-12-16 10:43 |
| #7 So. He had been planning this for months. Did he set up a target and practice like those people did to win money, not to strike a blow for their people, but to win money at a halftime show? NO. Caught President Bush completely by surprise and missed twice from 5 yards - Ha Ha Ha! Ha Ha! My daughter throws better than this Childish Representative of Journalistic Suckulance. Bwaa ha ha! Give Bush 2 baseballs from same distance. Snicker snicker snort. Hundreds joined a protest? What, everyone else at work? Thhhuupppttt. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-12-16 10:41 |
| #6 If I were Zaidi, I would hope that Mr Dulaimi has learned a thing or two about the law in the past couple of years. His last client didn't do too well with his legal expertise. |
| Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2008-12-16 08:42 |
| #5 If you're p*ssing off an Arab, you're doing something right.... |
| Posted by: Uncle Phester 2008-12-16 08:38 |
| #4 Yet another reason for the Iraqis to loathe their Arab "brothers". |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-12-16 07:46 |
| #3 If he'd done this to Saddam, I'm sure his boys shredder would have been greased that night. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-12-16 07:20 |
| #2 FREE Infinite On-Demand TV Shows, Movies, Music(millions and millions of digital quality tracks), Unlimited Games, Money, and FREE College Educations (Stanford, Oxford, Notre Dame and more) @ InternetSurfShack.com |
| Posted by: Gerthudion Flavitch9964 2008-12-16 06:00 |
| #1 Anyone one in Rantburg would want to be the hero of people who consider a guy who crushed the skull of a four year old girl, a hero? Just what I thought. |
| Posted by: JFM 2008-12-16 05:47 |