Angry Iraqi throws shoes at President Bush in Baghdad

[J.R.E.]

Angry Iraqi throws shoes at President Bush in Baghdad
Sunday, December 14, 2008
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http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2008/12/14/414679.html?title=Angry+Iraqi+throws+shoes+at+President+Bush+in+Baghdad



President Bush, ducks a thrown shoe as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki tries to protect him Sunday.(CNN) -- President Bush made a farewell visit Sunday to Baghdad, Iraq, where he met with Iraqi leaders and was targeted by an angry Iraqi man, who jumped up and threw shoes at Bush during a news conference.

Bush ducked, and the shoes, thrown one at a time, sailed past his head during the news conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in his palace in the heavily fortified Green Zone.

Throwing shoes at someone, or sitting so that the bottom of a shoe faces another person, is considered an insult among Muslims.

The man was dragged out screaming after throwing the shoes.

As the man continued to scream from another room, Bush said: "That was a size 10 shoe he threw at me, you may want to know."

Bush had been lauding the conclusion of a security pact with Iraq as journalists looked on.

"So what if the guy threw his shoe at me?" Bush told a reporter in response to a question about the incident.

"Let me talk about the guy throwing his shoe. It's one way to gain attention. It's like going to a political rally and having people yell at you. It's like driving down the street and having people not gesturing with all five fingers.

"It's a way for people to draw attention. I don't know what the guy's cause is. But one thing is for certain. He caused you to ask me a question about it. I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it.

"These journalists here were very apologetic. They ... said this doesn't represent the Iraqi people, but that's what happens in free societies where people try to draw attention to themselves."

Bush then directed his comments to the security pact, which he and al-Maliki were preparing to sign, hailing it as "a major achievement" but cautioning that "there is more work to be done."

"All this basically says is we made good progress, and we will continue to work together to achieve peace," Bush said.

Bush's trip was to celebrate the conclusion of the security pact, called the Strategic Framework Agreement and the Status of Forces Agreement, the White House said.

The pact will replace a U.N. mandate for the U.S. presence in Iraq that expires at the end of this year. The agreement, reached after months of negotiations, sets June 30, 2009, as the deadline for U.S. combat troops to withdraw from all Iraqi cities and towns. The date for all U.S. troops to leave Iraq is December 31, 2011.


Bush called the passage of the pact "a way forward to help the Iraqi people realize the blessings of a free society."

Bush said the work "hasn't been easy, but it has been necessary for American security, Iraqi hope and world peace."

Bush landed at Baghdad International Airport on Sunday and traveled by helicopter to meet with President Jalal Talabani and his two vice presidents at Talabani's palace outside the Green Zone.

It marked the first time he has been outside the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad without being on a military base.

The visit was Bush's fourth since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Afterward, Talabani praised his U.S. counterpart as a "great friend for the Iraqi people" and the man "who helped us to liberate our country and to reach this day, which we have democracy, human rights, and prosperity gradually in our country."

Talabani said he and Bush, who is slated to leave office next month, had spoken "very frankly and friendly" and expressed the hope that the two would remain friends even "back in Texas."

For his part, Bush said he had come to admire Talabani and his vice presidents "for their courage and for their determination to succeed."

As the U.S. and Iraqi national anthems played and Iraqi troops looked on, he and the Iraqi president walked along a red carpet.

In remarks to reporters, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, who traveled with Bush, described the situation in Iraq as "in a transition."

"For the first time in Iraq's history and really the first time in the region, you have Sunni, Shia and Kurds working together in a democratic framework to chart a way forward for their country," he said.



Ray

[Oceanbeach]

Hey Ray,

Interesting story... My Bush Countdown Clock says that in 36 days, 3 Hours, and 34 Minutes, Bush will be a thing of the past, just like my little clock.  This clock was a gift from my pharmacy for appreciation in trying to keep Title I funding available in Sonoma County and we still lost our funding but Bush got a new pair of shoes.    Have the best day
Michael 

[J.R.E.]

Hey Ray,

My Bush Countdown Clock says that in 36 days, 3 Hours, and 34 Minutes, Bush will be a thing of the past, just like my little clock.  Michael 

Goodbye to George W Hoover !! 


Ray

[allopathicholistic]

I guess W "misunderestimated" () how much people detest him. Another George Bush classic 

[Seadickrun]

If the shoe fits....

[RapidRod]

Just goes to show that the US present has worked. It was a shoe, not a suicide bomber or a grenade..

[J.R.E.]

Too bad he couldn't have hit him with a steel toe boot !


Ray

[Basquo]

Just goes to show that the US present has worked. It was a shoe, not a suicide bomber or a grenade..

Yeah, we gave them a "present" alright: freedom to persecute gays and Christians.

[Andy Velez]

Have Cheyney's business pals at Haliburton pay for a new pair of shoes for the guy since they have bilked the US for billions during this accursed war. And Congress should give the guy a special medal for meritorious service. ...just sayin'....

[BT65]

I thought it was hilarious when I saw the clip on the news.  They should really be throwing piles of shit at him.

[RapidRod]

Yeah, we gave them a "present" alright: freedom to persecute gays and Christians.

They were persecuting gays and Christians before the US got involved in Iraq.

[Basquo]

It's worse now. This article has been discussed on these forums before:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/155656

[Dachshund]

Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets Monday to demand the release of a reporter who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush, as Arabs across many parts of the Middle East hailed the journalist as a hero and praised his insult as a proper send-off to the unpopular U.S. president.

~Associated Press

I guess this gives new meaning to giving George the boot.

[Andy Velez]

it's also pathetic and sobering to see how he and his henchmen have so degraded the country they have illegitimately represented to the world. 

[allopathicholistic]

Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets Monday to demand the release of a reporter who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush, as Arabs across many parts of the Middle East hailed the journalist as a hero and praised his insult as a proper send-off to the unpopular U.S. president.

~Associated Press

I guess this gives new meaning to giving George the boot.

ROFL! See what I mean?

I thought it was hilarious when I saw the clip on the news.  They should really be throwing piles of shit at him.

That man could've filled the shoes with shit fist. But he missed anyway. Should've aimed for the chest Oh my, where's my halo today? I can't seem to find it!

[red_Dragon888]

I hope they let him free...

[Rural_oz]

In todays news......

'He has got a broken arm and ribs, and cuts to his eye and arm,' said Durgham.

'He is being held by forces under the command of Muwaffaq al-Rubaie,' Iraq's national security adviser, he added.

Thankfully I live where I live.

[OneTampa]

You saw how fast Bush boy ducked when those shoes came a hurlin' his way?
I'll give it him, he was quick ducker.
Probably had a lot of practice with Laura throwing garden pots of lilacs (as in "...he'd lie like a hemp rug..") at him.