If the Shoe Fits, Throw It
Besides being the anniversary of George Washington's death, December 14th (two days ago) marked another anniversary in Presidential history. On December 14, 2008, President George W. Bush made his fourth and final planned trip to Iraq as president. During a press conference held at the Prime Minister's Palace in Baghdad, that day, Iraqi broadcast journalist Muntadhar Al-Zaidi threw both of his shoes at the President.
The throwing of shoes apparently is an act of extreme disrespect in middle-eastern culture. Al-Zaidi yelled (in Arabic) "This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog," and he threw his first shoe at Bush. Then he shouted "This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq," as he threw his other shoe.
President Bush ducked twice, avoiding being hit by the shoes. Prime Minister Maliki attempted to catch one of the shoes. Al-Zaidi was then pulled to the floor by another journalist, before being grabbed by Prime Minister Maliki's guards, kicked, and rushed out of the room.
White House press secretary Dana Perino was hit in the face by a microphone boom knocked over by a presidential bodyguard resulting in a clearly visible black eye.
The incident became the focal point of some of the questions in the remainder of the press conference. President Bush said some Iraqi reporters had apologized to him.He said "Thanks for apologizing on behalf of the Iraqi people. It doesn't bother me." Bush also quipped, "If you want the facts, it's a size 10 shoe that he threw." When asked about the incident by another reporter, Bush said "It's a way for people to draw attention. I don't know what the guy's cause was. I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it." When later asked about the incident, Bush said "I didn't have much time to reflect on anything, I was ducking and dodging. I'm not angry with the system. I believe that a free society is emerging, and a free society is necessary for our own security and peace," he added
Al-Zaidi was held by the prime minister's guards and was later turned over to the Iraqi army's Baghdad command. The command in turn handed him over to the Iraqi judiciary. Al-Zaidi went before a judge on December 17, 2008. He declined to be represented by Khalil al-Duleimi, who defended Saddam Hussein but chose instead to be represented by Dheyaa al-Saadi, President of the Iraqi Bar Association. In articulating his client's defence, al-Duleimi said "He only freely expressed himself to the occupier, and he has such a right according to international law."
On February 20, 2009, al-Zaidi was convicted of assaulting a foreign head of state in a 90-minute trial by the Central Criminal Court of Iraq.On March 12, 2009, he was sentenced to three years in prison for but on April 7 the sentence was reduced to one year on appeal. He was released on 15 September 2009 for good behavior, after serving nine months of the sentence.
I wonder what the sentence would have been if this incident had occurred on U.S. soil?
Below is a YouTube video of the incident and some of Bush's comments to the media following the incident.
The throwing of shoes apparently is an act of extreme disrespect in middle-eastern culture. Al-Zaidi yelled (in Arabic) "This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog," and he threw his first shoe at Bush. Then he shouted "This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq," as he threw his other shoe.
President Bush ducked twice, avoiding being hit by the shoes. Prime Minister Maliki attempted to catch one of the shoes. Al-Zaidi was then pulled to the floor by another journalist, before being grabbed by Prime Minister Maliki's guards, kicked, and rushed out of the room.
White House press secretary Dana Perino was hit in the face by a microphone boom knocked over by a presidential bodyguard resulting in a clearly visible black eye.
The incident became the focal point of some of the questions in the remainder of the press conference. President Bush said some Iraqi reporters had apologized to him.He said "Thanks for apologizing on behalf of the Iraqi people. It doesn't bother me." Bush also quipped, "If you want the facts, it's a size 10 shoe that he threw." When asked about the incident by another reporter, Bush said "It's a way for people to draw attention. I don't know what the guy's cause was. I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it." When later asked about the incident, Bush said "I didn't have much time to reflect on anything, I was ducking and dodging. I'm not angry with the system. I believe that a free society is emerging, and a free society is necessary for our own security and peace," he added
Al-Zaidi was held by the prime minister's guards and was later turned over to the Iraqi army's Baghdad command. The command in turn handed him over to the Iraqi judiciary. Al-Zaidi went before a judge on December 17, 2008. He declined to be represented by Khalil al-Duleimi, who defended Saddam Hussein but chose instead to be represented by Dheyaa al-Saadi, President of the Iraqi Bar Association. In articulating his client's defence, al-Duleimi said "He only freely expressed himself to the occupier, and he has such a right according to international law."
On February 20, 2009, al-Zaidi was convicted of assaulting a foreign head of state in a 90-minute trial by the Central Criminal Court of Iraq.On March 12, 2009, he was sentenced to three years in prison for but on April 7 the sentence was reduced to one year on appeal. He was released on 15 September 2009 for good behavior, after serving nine months of the sentence.
I wonder what the sentence would have been if this incident had occurred on U.S. soil?
Below is a YouTube video of the incident and some of Bush's comments to the media following the incident.